Out of the Blue
by little-warrior
Summary: Why is Denzel in Aeris' church? What does Tifa want at ShinRa HQ? Is Rufus' sudden interest in her just plain business? Who kills new Geostigma patients? What does Reeve know and doesn't tell? Is Elena as lost as Tseng believes?
1. Nigh

_This story is going to be about Tifa, Rufus, Tseng, Elena, Reeve and Denzel and I haven't singled out a particular main character, yet. 'Friendship' might change into 'romance' and if, the pairing will be TsengxElena and RufusxTifa._

_First at all, be warned: I will give my best, but I'm not a native speaker, so please excuse any mistakes I make. I would be very glad, though, if you could point them out to me so I can correct them._

_Secondly: I neither own Final Fantasy (that's Square Enix), nor do I own any of the characters who chose to make an appearance in this text (Square Enix, too). This story isn't written to earn money or anything the like, it's just for the fun of it, so, don't sue me (wouldn't be worth it, either)._

_**Edit**__: Thanks for your tips concerning mistakes. I hope I've corrected some now. If you find others, please tell me^^.

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Chapter 1: Rufus: In which Tseng can't sleep

_The air is clear, clear and fierce and the sun is shimmering on the white snow._

_The snow is frozen. It cracks, slowly, splinters under the bare sole when he treads on it. It cuts into the feet as he drags them on._

_Soon, sure, soon he won't be able to feel the pain anymore, when his feet have died with the numbing cold. _

_The hem of his white trousers is covered in blood his feet won't yet leave behind in the snow. _

_He does not know how he got here, but he has to cross the plane. Why, he isn't sure, only, the dark fright is lurking deep inside him. It is important, more important than everything else. He has to cross the plane before it is too late, he has to proof it. What, he doesn't know. All he knows for certain is that he has no time left. It is not just snow he is walking on. The snow is covering ice and below the ice, there is a lake. A vast, deep and dark lake. And the sun is shining brightly. It is melting the ice away._

_He hears it creaking now. Raises his head. There, in front of him, far away, is the shore. He can reach it. He only needs to drag himself a little further. There is someone waiting for him. But when he looks up, the creaking intensives, comes closer from behind. He turns to look back, sees only his footsteps. Only, the last few have been soiled with blood. Blood that now creeps up his leg. Blood that crawls around the footsteps behind him, fills the small cracks in the ice like speckles in an iris. The warm blood is melting away the ice. It is breaking. The cracks are broadening, the blood is spreading, coming towards him. He turns, his heart his hammering. He has to run, has to get to the shore. But as he sets to run, he realizes to his horror that the blood around his feet has frozen and is nailing him to the ground._

_Around him, the ice is splintering__, the cracks turn into rifts, racing towards him, the ground is tumbling, breaking under his feet and in the same moment, he is falling. Water, icy water, is all around him and he can't move his legs, they are bound to the ice, he fights for air, to resurface, but can't cling to the ice, the ice floes shake him off every time until his head sinks under water and he can't breath anymore. He just sees the surface disappearing above his head, is sinking, can't breath, the darkness starts to engulf him and all fighting is useless, he is going to die and he couldn't proof anything._

Rufus shot up, the gasp for air hurting in his throat. His pyjama was sticking to his body and he was clinging to the blanket, his breaths coming in heavy puffs. It took him several moments to normalize his breathing and to become aware of where he was. Under the blanket, his leg was hurting badly. It was almost dark around him, apart from the faint light that was falling through the milky windows. He wasn't on any ice fields, though cold it was. Nor was he in his bed in Midgar. This was just his futon in the empty room. He slowly unclenched his fingers. His leg – it was only his left leg – was still hurting, the pain thundering up the calf and through the knee. He drew it closer to his chest, tried to massage the pain away.

He had never in his life been on any ice fields.

The pain slowly eased away, but as always with this dream, he couldn't bring himself to go to sleep again. Slowly, he turned from the bed and pushed himself up. The floor was warm under his bare feet as he limped towards the door.

Where was Tseng? Tseng said he talked in his sleep and he knew he must have shouted. So, where was his Turk?

The door, covered in thin paper, slid aside and opened to the living room. The door opposite to his was open, too, and his eyes fell onto an untidy but empty bed. Clenching to the frame, he looked around and saw Tseng's shadow, barely visible against the moonlight.

The Turk was sitting on a couch, elbows on his tights and a mug between his hands, clenching to it. His eyes were vacantly staring into the mug. The part Rufus could see of the face was pulled into a grimace.

It had been around this time of the year, close to full moon, too.

Rufus set into motion, forced his unwilling leg onwards. It was only a few metres, but he hadn't yet reached the couch when a new wave of pain flooded through his leg and it nearly gave way under him. Only in the last moment did he catch the armrest of the couch and kept himself from falling, clenching his teeth as hot pain flared through his side. He tried force himself up again, but his fall against the couch had been enough to startle Tseng up.

"Rufus? – Wait!" Helpful as ever, Tseng was on his feet in the same moment, reaching out for him.

"Leave it." Gingerly, he sat down on the nearest chair, next to the couch. The leg was still throbbing.

"Have I woken you, Shachou?" Tseng's face was half in shadows, completely expressionless as always. But it wasn't difficult to see the film of sweat on the Turk's face, the quickly hidden fear.

"No, you haven't."

Tseng looked at him, expressionlessly concerned. "Was it your nightmare again?" There was also a shadow of guilt in the Turk's eyes.

"No, I just couldn't sleep." Rufus bent down although it sent another wave of pain through his leg and picked up the mug. "And why are you here? Are you trying to read tea leaves?"

"I couldn't sleep, either."

"Hn." The Turk was lying.

Rufus placed the mug on the table, turned the handle to Tseng who frowned. First, Rufus thought it was because he had discovered him lying. Then, he realized that he wasn't wearing his gloves. He withdrew his hand quickly, too quickly.

"What is it with your hand, Rufus?"

"Nothing."

"Let me see it. Please."

Rufus hesitated for a moment. He would have liked to keep it secret just a little longer. But now, he pointed out his hand again. Made it Tseng's problem, too.

Tseng's touch was cold on his skin and Rufus almost withdrew the hand again. He was starting to feel cold in his pyjama and the way Tseng was scrutinizing his hand wasn't making him feel any better.

"What is this? Is it…?"

"Geostigma? I think so." He withdrew his hand, kept any emotion from his voice.

Tseng was studying him. This time, there was a real frown on his face, knitting even slightly what seemed to be a tilak on his forehead.

"How long do you have it already?"

"A month, six weeks, maybe." Rufus didn't look at him. Tseng would take it badly that he hadn't told him. But the Turk would have worried. And what need was there to worry, when the death sentence had already been spoken?

Tseng had fallen silent, deadly silent, one could say, and Rufus knew that his mind was making calculations now, drawing conclusions. The first conclusion would be that he didn't have long to live anymore. The second, that this, of course, was the explanation to why he had been working so fiercely over the last few weeks. He used to hate how Tseng could look through all his layers. But that had been before he had gotten to known Tseng.

"Have you already seen doctors about it, Rufus?"

"Wouldn't you know if I had?" He pronounced it as offhanded as possible, but Tseng still kept fixing him with his eyes, eyebrows knitted in a deep frown.

"I've read all the currently available literature. There are only a few cases like mine, they aren't healing it, but no one died so far, so they can't tell how long it takes."

"I've never seen white Geostigma, though."

Rufus shrugged. "It's in the same spots, what difference does the colour make?" He smirked. "At least, if it's white, it doesn't show so very much." He supposed that Tseng was looking straight through that mask, too.

Perhaps the day was dawning behind the panels already. Rufus forced himself up again, uncaring for his hurting leg. "I'm expecting you in one hour in my office with that report on the new solar panels."

Tseng didn't reply and Rufus staggered back to his room. When he reached the door, Tseng was still following him with his eyes.

"I'm currently financing research on this topic." He hesitated a moment and thought about whether he should really utter these words, but smirked: "It's quite a waste of money, though. Geostigma's been caused by a certain sequence in the DNA… physicians can't even deal with cancer and that's only a mistake in a few cells' DNA. How do they want to cure a mistake that is within every single cell of a human body?"

"We will find a solution, Rufus."

"Will you?" He gave Tseng a mocking smile and slipped into his bedroom. His leg was still throbbing, but after the shower, the pain ceased. It hadn't been there for months, but it didn't surprise him that it had come back. He rubbed the moisture away from the mirror and leaned forward to consider his eye, the one that had been infected with geostigma. Now, he had worried Tseng, too. But collapsing dead on him wasn't much of a solution, either.

Damn it.

He leaned closer to the mirror, closer to his eye. There, on the iris around the pupil, was a ring of red. Had is spread since yesterday? He couldn't be sure. Like the blotches on the skin, his eye was loosing its colour. The outer rim was still of a faint blue, but the closer to the pupil, the more the blue faded into a light purple before it turned into red. What would happen if all the melanin had faded away? Would he die? Perhaps. He studied the criss-cross of scars on his jar line which spread over the shoulder, tainted by the blotch on his chest.

He was sick of being afraid to die.

It was only just light when Rufus sat down in his office, no one was awake not to mention in an office, yet. Just as expected, the weather was changing outside and rain had started falling steadily. At least, he thought, turning to some heavy files, it was no snow.

About half an hour later, a knock on the door startled him from his work and Tseng entered. He was in his coat and wore a stern expression. "Permission to take the helicopter, Shachou?"

"Permission granted. – Wait." Rufus looked up from his routine. "What do you need the helicopter for? I didn't order anyone to go anywhere."

"We are going to Midgar, Sir."

"Why on Gaia would you go to Midgar?", he was looking straight at Tseng now, didn't like this peculiar interruption. It wasn't like Tseng to plan without consulting him and the Turk surely looked a little guilty. "Where are the reports for the solar panels, anyway? I'll need them. And it's 'Edge' now, not 'Midgar'."

"The reports are here, Sir", Tseng replied calmly and put a file from under his arm onto the table. "Rude and I are going to the old church. The one where Aeris Gainsborough used to live."

"Are you still mooning over that girl? She's dead, Tseng, deal with it." He knew what Tseng was aiming at and it angered him.

A cloud passed Tseng's immovable features. "There is said to be a spring, Sir."

Rufus put his pen aside, frowned. "I know there is a _spring_. But you are not going to take that water. I will not have them pity me, accept anything from them or even let them know! I won't _crawl_ to them."

Tseng sighed. "Is your pride really more worth than your life?"

"If the rain didn't cure me entirely, how should the water? There's no need to loose my face – Besides, they could have made it a spa by now. It would be very difficult to get water without applying force, then."

"They haven't made it a spa."

Rufus gave a sigh. "Don't they have _any_ sense for business?" He unconsciously brushed the hair aside. Tseng would go on bugging him with this forever. "Very well. I'll come with you. I have to talk to Reeve, anyway, and it would be best to meet him face to face."

"I advise you not to go, Shachou. There are still a lot of people who would like to kill you and…"

"Then take Reno and Elena, too. Avalanche has never shown any inclination to kill me, why would they now?"

Tseng gave another sigh. "It's not just Avalanche."

"You said yourself they haven't made it a spa. As far as I remember, this place lies in the middle of Midgar. Nobody's climbing rubble if he doesn't have to. I'm coming with you."

"Well, then, okay." Tseng turned in the doorway, a bit too satisfied in Rufus' opinion.

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_Thank you very much for bearing with me so far and I hope you enjoyed._

_The next chapter will be about Tseng and Shin-Ra's visit to Aeris' church where they will encounter Denzel._

_Please review!_


	2. Aeris' Church

_So, here comes the second chapter. Denzel will make and appearance, too._

_I hope you will enjoy!

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Chapter 2: Tseng: Aeris' Church

It was almost a week later that Rufus and Reeve had brought their schedules into accordance and Tseng was thankful that Rufus hadn't changed his mind in the meantime. He had surely realized that Tseng had manipulated him into allowing the mission and perhaps that was why he insisted on joining the scheme. Tseng didn't like him coming along, however, Rufus had always been overzealous and Tseng supposed that only age would change that. If Rufus ever got to be that old.

He didn't like to admit it, but the news that Rufus might be infected with a new form of Geostigma had cost him sleep. It was the fear that, perhaps, Rufus couldn't be healed by the water. It was the fear that everything would start once again. The attacks, Rufus exhausting himself with work when he should rest. How helpless they – he – would be once again! And, of course, Kadaj and his gang. If Geostigma returned, would they, too? He didn't know whether he would survive it again. There were still nights when it was just a shadow, just the moon, that sent him spinning with panic.

He held the door to the helicopter. Rufus was busying himself with a file but the moment he passed, he looked up, both eyes bright with exuberant slyness and a smirked passed his lips. It wasn't an expression Rufus allowed himself very often. It meant he had been scheming, he liked his plan and this plan was most certainly going to seriously annoy someone. The last time he had worn this expression, he had announced that the remains of Shin-Ra Eletronic Power, Inc. would go green.

Tseng climbed into the helicopter after him, followed by Elena who closed the door of the helicopter.

"What are you up to, Shachou?" he asked, as soon as he had taken his seat. The rotors were spinning above them and he had to admit he was curious.

"Nothing in particular." Rufus fell silent again and Tseng studied him as he placed the headset onto his ears.

"No?"

Rufus made a dismissive gesture. "I just figured that really nobody is interested in Midgar at the moment. It's a huge mass grave, anyway. But if I cleared away the rubble, I might get back into business in Edge. I'd need to employ a great amount of workers. They can be trained and the free space can be used to build a new metropolis. With energy parks and everything. It's a perfect opportunity to wrap everyone up." He stopped to allow himself a mischievous smirk. "Besides, I've found a way how to increase our power output. Several ways, actually. Reeve would want to give his d'accord on one of them. … I talked about the others with the scientists. Shin-Ra built several parts of Edge, so nobody can complain if we put up some more solar panels et cetera..."

Tseng nodded and listened to the list of further things Rufus was describing. As usual, it was more than just interesting to listen to the heir's plan. But when he had finished – announcing that they were thus going to move back to Edge as soon as possible, Tseng started to feel Elena's eyes on him and didn't want to look at her. He had been feeling awkward around her every since they had returned. He should have protected her better and yet she, who was the rooky, wasn't coping any better than he was. He should have done something about it, helped her, but he didn't know what. He had caught her staring into nothingness, whenever she laughed, her eyes hadn't laughed with her. Before, he had been well aware that she had studied him for hours, given the chance. Now, she never did that. She scarcely looked at him anymore. If only he could have protected her from what had happened to them!

But now, it was too late. Regrets, they always came too late.

"Tseng?"

Rufus had been silent now for several moments and without his words to listen to and to concentrate on, Tseng realized that his thoughts had trailed off and his eyes had stopped on Rufus'. "You are wearing your contact again."

"Yes, that's true." One of Rufus' eyebrows had darted upwards, in cold irony. First, Tseng had hated how Rufus could read him, how he would scrutinize every single one of his actions into motives and feelings. It was before he had realized that Rufus liked to scrutinize everything and then put it together to a deeper meaning.

Tseng gave a short nod, looked out of the window and after several moments looked back at Rufus again. The president had picked up a file, but was just staring at it. He could feel Elena's eyes on him again; she was waiting for him to say something. Although she used to be pretty cheeky, she didn't have the heart to address Rufus anymore.

"Is it bad, then?"

Rufus looked up, a wry motion around his lips. "Depends if you define 'purple' as bad."

"Purple?"

"Of course." He flicked his hair. "The melanin is disappearing, the blood starts shining through. It goes along with the typical loss of eyesight caused by albinism." Rufus' account was quite offhanded, but Tseng had the impression that he wasn't exactly telling the truth. At least not the entire truth. And he was by no means as uncaring as he acted.

Next to Rufus, but keeping a good distance, Elena was studying Rufus. It seemed she wasn't sure what to say or to think. Between her hands, she was holding some reports, too, her knuckles were white. Tseng turned his head and quickly looked away.

Below them, the sea had changed into land again, land, that was now green in spring and summer. At the moment, though, it was grey and the forests they crossed without any leaves; the winter was staying late this year. When Tseng looked up, Rufus was studying his files again.

Slowly, the desolated winter landscape below them started to take a whitish taint which gradually bleached out the grey, and before they had reached Edge, the ground was blinking up to them in shiny white, the chopper's blue shadow chasing after them. It looked beautiful. It was the first time, Tseng had to admit, that he thought anything about the entire surround of Midgar beautiful.

But now, slowly, the ruins of the town itself came into view, sparkling in the sun, everything covered in a white coat and bright in daylight, so very different from every impression Midgar had ever left before. Tseng felt Reno lowering the helicopter and bit by bit, the ruins started rising around them, rubble now shaped by wind and weather, sharp edges covered in snow and sometimes even in the small vegetation that was venturing back into the town.

"We have arrived, Sir", he informed Rufus unnecessarily. The chopper had touched down directly in front of the old church. Sinking, Tseng had caught a look inside through the broken roof. Reno, one had to admit that, would even be able to land a chopper safely on a pinpoint.

Rufus closed the file he had been working at and threw a glance outside. Rude, meanwhile, had entered the passenger's cabin and was opening the door. Icy air mixed with the stirred up snow was blowing into the small room, quickly taking the warmth out of it.

Rude left the chopper first and Tseng followed him next, hand around the handle of his pistol, the other one closing his coat.

The air was clear and sharply cold, sparkling with the snow the chopper had dispersed. There was not a sound to be heard in the still air. Not a living soul around them.

The powdery snow flew into every direction when Rufus jumped from the chopper, gun in his gloved hand and a disapproving frown on his face.

"Yo! Elena!"

Tseng could just pull his head away in time before the snowball hit the chopper where he had had his head moments before and showered Elena in snow. She gave a yelp. "Reno!!"

"You have to be aware, all the time, Sis!"

"Come." Rufus set into motion; the frown had deepened on his face as he stepped from the blue shadow the helicopter threw into the bright sunlight. It wouldn't even have left Tseng enough time to wonder at Elena's sudden outbreak of liveliness if he hadn't been occupied with scanning the surrounding.

"Reno, stay with the helicopter."

"Yes, Senpai."

Tseng was directly behind Rufus, scanning the snow covered rubble around them for any form of life. There wasn't much of a sound in the air and surely, if somebody was there, there would have been some sounds and the snow wouldn't have been as immaculate, despite what racket the helicopter had created. Tseng couldn't make out a single footprint.

Rufus was leading, trudging through the ankle deep snow, and next to Tseng, Rude was scanning the surrounding, too. But his entire posture suggested that he hadn't detected anything suspicious. It was so silent that even their steps resounded, though gently.

"Well, well." Rufus had stopped in front of the church and was looking up the building into to blue sky. There were some icicles handing from the roof. On the ground, there was a single pair of footsteps. "This doesn't seem to be a very popular place. What a waste!"

He started up the few stairs in the same moment as Tseng categorized the single pair of steps as those of a kid. They had been caused by small boots and where the chopper hadn't blown the traces away, they were leading to a small sled, nearly hid behind rubble. Tseng didn't stop Rufus; he didn't know any child that could get dangerous to four Turks. Well, actually he did, but that child had grown up and was walking in front of him.

"I'm sure the water will be frozen over. I hope you brought some axes." Wryly, Rufus pushed the doors open and walked into the church without showing any hesitation.

Snow was falling softly through several holes in the holey roof, the shattered benches and the uneven floor were partly covered in a coat of snow, but it was surprisingly warm. Steam was lying over the spring, almost unmoved. As they stepped further into the room, four pairs of boots resounding heavily on the wood of the church, a boy jumped up. He didn't look around but started running in the same moment, heading towards a small hole in the wall. As he tried to slip past, Rufus quickly took some steps forward, intercepted him and grabbed his coat.

"Well, well, where are we running?"

"Let me go!!"

"Don't I know you?"

The kid pulled at his coat. "Let me go! I don't know you!"

Tseng could see Rufus smirking. They were surrounding the kid from the other sides. "I'm surprised you don't. Are you here on your own?"

The kid was staring at Rufus. His lower lip was quivering, even as Rufus let go, but it seemed to be anger rather than fear. "If you do something to me, Cloud will come and kill you!"

Tseng saw Rufus smirking, again, as he straightened up. "Well, we don't want that, do we?"

"What are you doing here?!" The boy was clenching his fists.

"I'm just taking a look at my property. It'd make a good spa, you know?" Perhaps the boy couldn't read it, but Rufus smile was rather cruel as he started looking around him. For Rufus, the boy wasn't very interesting anymore after it was clear now that there was nobody around here to cause trouble.

"It's not you proper-.--- It's Aeris' place! I won't allow you to make a spa out of it!!!"

"My, my, you do seem to have some courage, young man. But I'm sorry to disappoint you. Even if Ms. Gainsborough has been _living_ here, I _own_ this place." It was clear from the expression in Rufus' face that he had lost interest.

The boy was narrowing his eyes. "You don't!!! I'll never allow you to destroy this place!!!"

"Whatever." Rufus had half turned already but in the same moment he seemed to think better of it, turned back to the boy and scrutinized him until his eyes fixed on the boy's forehead. Only as Rufus' lips crawled into a triumphing smirk, Tseng realized that the skin under the hair was stained with white. "You have geostigma again. Only, this time it's white."

This assumption took the boy aback and he stared at Rufus. "No… I mean… Tifa says it's not Geostigma!!!"

"Does she? What does she say it is, then?"

The boy pulled a face that perhaps was supposed to be threatening. It wasn't, though. "I will only tell you if you promise not to destroy this place!"

Rufus laughed. "My, you seem to be the only one with a sense for business in your petit group! – I'm not _that_ interested, though."

The boy hesitated but Tseng knew that Rufus was really burning to hear what the boy had to say. The interest that had returned to his eyes betrayed him clearly. And he, too, was curious what their former enemies might know that they didn't.

"I … ehm… " The kid seemed rather helpless.

"What about you tell me and I'll not start pulling this place down today?" Rufus was clearly impatient.

The boy was completely insecure now. "That sounds alright, I think…?" He hesitated a moment, eyed Rufus who could look exactly that trustworthy and nice when he was about to order an execution. But, of course, the boy didn't know. So, he frowned a moment longer and then started: "… Doctor Eliot says, Geostigma broke something in my body and it won't ever heal. But it's not dangerous! He says it won't kill me!"

"Is that so?"

The boy nodded.

"Very well. You bought your church another day, then, _Denzel_." Rufus turned away again and started setting off towards the steam that was covering the spring.

"What about the boy, Sir?" Tseng inquired. He would have liked to let him go, though he doubt Rufus wouldn't. Not because the boy was, he had to admit, rather cute and his courage unquestionable, but because he was of no further use.

"Let him go."

Tseng nodded at Elena and Rude to make room and headed to Rufus himself. Out of the edge of his eye, Tseng saw Elena winking at the kid. It was the second time today Elena had shown some behaviour that didn't indicate she was cracked and it relieved him. Perhaps, Elena was only awkward when he was around? It wasn't something that could be wished for, but it was at least better than having her suffer as much as she had seemed to.

The sound of running children's boots quickly disappeared.

Tseng had reached Rufus in the meantime who was waiting for him. "Find this doctor Eliot and have him questioned, Tseng. Perhaps they know something we don't."

Tseng gave a nod and turned away to take out his mobile. It was better to act quickly before the boy got home and squealed everything to Tifa who'd draw her conclusions. It took him several moments before he got a connection and some moments longer before he had placed his orders. When he had closed his mobile again, Elena was making sure that the boy had left, indeed, and Rude was watching the outside through a crack in the walls. Rufus was squatting next to the water. He had put out his glove to feel the water.

"It's surprisingly warm", he commented as Tseng approached. "But it doesn't seem to deal with the Geostigma." He studied the back of his wet hand.

Tseng watched the water running over the white stain on Rufus' hand, saw nothing happening and felt his stomach twist. "Perhaps they really know something we don't." Although he didn't believe it, the thought was reassuring. But he felt his voice being dry in his throat. Gaia, he didn't want Rufus to die!

But the fear when he squatted next to Rufus was chocking his breath.

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_I do hope you enjoyed the chapter! I'm planning the next one to be on Reeve._

_I'd be glad about critique or tips! Or wishes, if I can include them ;-) So,_

_Please review._


	3. Business Meeting

_Only a short chapter from Reeve's point of view. I'm sorry I'm continuously changing the description to the story, but a lot of new ideas have poured in I want to include.

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Chapter 3: Reeve: Business Meeting

Rufus left the chopper without a look around and crossed the platform quickly, followed by his head-Turk. Reeve studied him approaching. He didn't enjoy conversations with Rufus very much although he had high respect for his younger colleague – and, one had to admit it – sponsor. Without his money, it would have been a lot more difficult to run WRO, to say the least.

"Reeve. Good to see you." Rufus was pointing his hand at him and Reeve seized it, surprised by how cold it felt when he shook it. Everything about Rufus was cold, one only forgot, most of all his eternal shadow, the silent and stern Turk.

"How was your journey?" Reeve asked.

"Pleasantly enough, thank you. Too long, as usual."

"Yes, that is true. Junon is quite some way off. – Do you like our snowy winter this year?"

"I'm not so much in favour of snow." Rufus displayed one of his smirks. "Winter slows down the building units."

"True. Anyway…"

"The property of Midgar, I prefer to discuss it face to face with you rather than over the phone."

Reeve nodded. He didn't like negotiations on the phone, anyway. The one thing he appreciated about Rufus was that although he was financing WRO to a great extend, he wasn't claiming any rights on its decisions. But mostly, their interest weren't clashing, anyway.

It didn't surprise him very much that Rufus was interested to increase his influence in Edge and he didn't mind. Rufus still owned most of the land around and having Edge hooked up to a reliable energy supply made things a lot easier for WRO. Also, by the work Rufus' company had done so far in Edge, it was nearly impossible to decline any further involvement. And, according to his informers, Junon had turned into quite a formidable town while they had been dealing with Deepground and other trouble. Of course, in the end he had to be careful that Rufus didn't yield too much power, but there were enough organizations popping up nowadays to deal with that problem.

"So, I assume you will move back into your building here in Edge?", Reeve concluded the negotiations.

Rufus gave a short nod. "I was planning to. That will make meetings somewhat easier in future."

"And to achieve a better tuning."

Rufus frowned for a moment and Reeve realized that he had gone too far; Rufus did not like anyone interfering with his authority, but before he could correct himself, a smirk crossed Rufus' face. "Come to speak of it, I have heard that geostigma is reappearing. You wouldn't have some information on the topic, would you?"

"I'll see what I can do. Why are you interested?"

"There've been a few cases in my hospitals in Junon and I would like to contribute to solve the problem. Imagine the public commotion it will create if the cases become know, not to mention the victims it might cost."

Reeve studied the young man opposite to him for a moment. He had heard that Rufus himself had been infected with geostigma. But he couldn't detect any sign of it. Then again, it was perhaps not so important. If Rufus was really infected, he would put a lot of effort in saving his life.

"As far as I am informed, it hasn't been too many cases. I have heard rumours that only those get the new form who were close to or in the final stage. But I am not well informed." Reeve replied and tried to sound as if he really didn't know.

"You have a Professor Eliot working on the case, I presume?"

The sudden assumption made Reeve jump. Rufus had to be very well informed if he knew about Eliot, but now, Rufus was smiling again. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to be presumptuous."

Reeve gave a short laugh. "I'll send you some reports. You are right, it's better if we cooperate."

"Thank you. I'll send you our data." They had reached the helicopter port and Reeve automatically pointed his hand towards Rufus who seized. His hand was still cold, even though Rufus had worn his fingerless gloves most of the time.

Then, the smaller man turned, nodded shortly to his silent shadows who drew up and all of them set into motion towards the helicopter. One could think they were still ruling the world. As if meteor hadn't fallen. But that was typical.

Reeve watched them enter the helicopter and as it had always been, he wasn't sure whether he should hate or like Shin-Ra's little heir. It had always been that way, even before meteor. But at least now, Rufus was using up his energy on giving the planet a brighter future. Still, he didn't trust them. It was better he kept some information to himself. Especially on New Geostigma. He certainly didn't want Shin-Ra to find out too much on this.

It was only when the helicopter had started and Reeve turned back into the building that he realized that Rufus had practically ended their meeting.

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_The next Chapter will be on Elena._

_This time, I would be really glad for some reviews. At least, please tell me whether I should continue or bag it ^^._


	4. Wherein Elena receives a new assignment

_Hello, again, and thank you for your wonderful reviews! They have been very motivating for me to go on, so here comes the fourth chapter, introducing the fourth protagonist.

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Chapter 4: Wherein Elena receives a new assignement

Elena was carrying heavily. She had picked up too much and she wasn't sure she would get it to the helicopter before it slipped her hands, so she stumbled on as fast as she could.

They were moving and again, it was like an evacuation. Everything had to fit into that one helicopter. She stumbled down the corridor over the wooden floor, the paper was slipping her hands and she cursed inwardly. If the paper fell, she would draw attention again to herself, attention she was so eager not to receive. Well, Reno or Rude she didn't mind. Reno would just joke and Rude would say nothing. But Tseng or, Gaia forbid, the boss himself… she couldn't bear to think of it!

She was afraid of Rufus, could see the short darting of his mouth when she turned her back. She had been a rooky, still, when meteor came. She had tried so hard to proof herself, but the moment they seemed to be ready to acknowledge her, Kadaj had come. And since then… she knew well enough that since then, she had been only short of failing completely. It was just a sound, just a ray of light, just a word that could send her back, spinning, unable to move. Rufus didn't like damaged goods. If he ever found out – he wouldn't keep her. Not even now!

And she was sure he was loosing patience. Otherwise, he wouldn't have given her the assignment to look into Dr. Eliot's data while Reno and Rude and Tseng were taking care of their new place of living. It had been a warning. What happened if she couldn't meet his standards, she didn't even want to know. But she couldn't even imagine loosing her job as a Turk. It would kill her, not to be with the Turks anymore. Not to be with Tseng anymore.

Of Tseng, she was even more afraid than of Rufus. Tseng bore up sp well. He had never shown any sign of weakness. Ever since they had returned from Kadaj, he had been back to his duties without battering an eyelid. And there she was, shrinking away from going outside, nearly falling asleep at her desk because of all the nights she couldn't sleep. Snapping into panic at harmless things… it was so pathetic!

And Tseng must surely feel it! After all he had done for her, after all the support and motivation he had given her, she allowed herself to snap up and was really useless.

Tseng was barely looking at her these days, he never showed her any benevolence, seemed totally cold now. How he had to hate her! She couldn't bear him disapproving of her! Not him, not the man she looked up to – loved, for the love of Gaia! She loved him even more fiercely after all he had done for her, how he had borne up and…

Suddenly, the door she had struggled with to open, hit against her. Her hand slipped and the files spilled onto the floor. When she looked around the havoc she had caused, disgusted nearly to tears by her clumsiness, she noticed the pair of legs rising from the debris and her eyes ended up in the stern face of her superior, only half a metre away. Her heart jumped to her throat and her stomach fell beyond her feet. She was on her knees in the same moment.

"I… I'm sorry, Senpai!", she stammered, had to fight against uprising tears as she started to collect the paper.

"I am apologizing. _I_ hit you with the door, after all." His voice was cold, but there was a note of kindness in it that nearly chocked the breath in her throat. But in the same moment, Tseng was down, too, also picking the files up and Elena felt her heart racing as he handed some to her and picked the rest up. Gaia! This was too good to be true!

In the next moment, she caught Tseng's eyes as she got up and felt her heart stop. He was looking at her, directly at her! His eyes were of such a beautiful black! And now, he got up, too, but he didn't hand her the files he was still holding, but held the door. "You shouldn't carry so much."

"Y… Yes, Tseng-san!" She felt the blood draining from her face to shoot up again in the next moment.

Tseng followed through the door and she could feel him walking so close by, eyes on her and she nearly couldn't breathe anymore.

"Everything alright, Elena?" The question made her jump.

"Y – Yes, absolutely, thank you, Senpai!" she managed to stammer at last. "I'm… I'm just clumsy, that's all, Sir!" She tried to smile, tried to avoid his eyes and in the same moment, it caught her cold that perhaps, Tseng hadn't asked after _her_ but if there was something in her work that was bothering her.

In the last moment, in her frozen brain, she caught a thought that had been haunting her for days. "That is… I mean… I read something strange."

"Yes?" Did he sound strained? Please, don't!

"Do you remember when Shachou said that – that he was loosing eyesight be-because his eye was turning colourless?" She didn't wait for Tseng's indicated nod to go on. "Well, I… I… uhm… fact is … uhm, its not cause by albinism. I mean, it is, but not in that way, you see? Uhm – when a child is born with albinism, the eyes won't develop properly because they need melanin. It's… it's not, like, his eye should be fully developed, so, uhm… it shouldn't worsen, you see? At least not much." She looked at Tseng and her heart skipped a beat and skipped another one when she saw him frowning. "It's not – I'm not saying Ru- Shachou got something wrong…" She clasped her hand in front of her mouth. It had been far too quick again. Now, she hadn't only accused the boss of lying, but she had also doubted his wits.

Tseng gave her a stern look. Perhaps not stern, maybe. His eyes – those wonderfully dark eyes – were smiling and his mouth was just a little curled up. "Don't tell him you know he's lying to us."

"Yes... yes, Senpai!" They walked the last few metres to the helicopter in silence. Reno was taking the files from both of them.

"Are those the last?" Reno asked, winking at Elena and Elena felt her heart stop – Reno knew about her crush on Tseng! Gaia! If only he didn't say anything!

"About, yes", she answered.

Tseng gave nothing but a nod, but when she turned back to the building, muttering a short 'thank you, Sir', Tseng had already turned back to her again.

"How far is your report?"

Elena needed a moment to figure that he meant the report on the new geostigma. "About finished, Sir…"

Tseng nodded. "I'll talk to Rufus. I'd like you to give us an overview as soon as possible."

"Yes… yes, Sir!", she stammered, for what else was there to say?

****

Edge was engulfed in snowfall. The leaden sky above had casted off snow since the early morning now. It swirled around the building, covered the streets and the ruins of Midgar equally. A cold wind was blowing, but inside the building, it was warm.

Elena was standing at the table in the conference room which was mainly empty now. Rufus and Tseng were sitting opposite to Reno and Rude, howsoever they had managed to worm into this meeting.

Elena was nervous. Not very nervous, it was just a presentation, after all, but there was also Rufus listening. And Tseng.

"First at all", she started, "I think it's important to say that this doesn't really seem to be a new illness. Or… or an illness at all. Dr. Eliot supposes that it's a reaction of the body to the damages geostigma caused. It shows in the same spots as geostigma used to appear and analyses of the tissue have suggested that the cells just aren't capable of producing or keeping melanin." She looked around herself. Rufus had sat back in his chair; there was a frown on his face. Tseng, next to him, looked as stoic as ever but if Elena wasn't quite mistaking, he was relieved and it made her heart beat faster.

"So, um… It seems that this, well, phenomenon strikes only rarely – it's less than 0.1 percent of those who had been infected with geostigma, even if we allow an enormous number of unreported cases. Also, it seems to strike only those who were around the final stage. For most, that's as far as it goes, but – hm – it seems in some cases, after the spots have appeared, symptoms like sudden sickness, lack of appetite, sometimes cramps and fever appear, too." She looked uneasily around her. Rufus' frown had deepened, his entire body stiffened as if he was about to get up. Tseng was frowning a little now, too. He seemed to be considering Rufus rather than her. None of both faces displayed a really impression, though, and Elena felt anxiousness rising. Hopefully, she hadn't said anything wrong! "But", she tried to smile and directed her eyes to Rufus, continued as quickly as possible, "in all cases reported, it seems to effect only children who were about to die – only had a few days left. – So, there's no need to worry for you, Shachou."

Rufus, at that, was strangely smirking, slightly only and Tseng's frown had smooth away a little, though his eyes were clearly on Rufus now. Somehow, this gave Elena a pang of disappointment. Reno was folding figures from paper and Rude looking who-knew-where through his glasses. Though, she was actually sure he was listening. "So far, in all Edge and the surrounding, there are only ten reported cases, but they've been under observation for a while and there's no hint that it's fatal. All of them have recovered remarkably well."

She stopped. There was also no way to treat it, if you didn't want to use make up, that was. But she didn't dare to utter that.

"Thank you, Elena, that was very informing." Rufus was slowly rising. He didn't like the topic, so much was obvious and Elena hoped she hadn't said anything wrong. He had been rather difficult with geostigma. "Please hand in a full report, will you?" He only uttered this over his shoulder, was already on his way out.

Reno and Rude had jumped up and were following Rufus outside now. So, there wouldn't be any discussion. Well, she hoped she could discuss it with Reno and Rude later on. She packed her papers, was relieved that the meeting was over and that she hadn't blundered totally. Rufus had seemed, well, at least not dissatisfied. Her heart, though, was still hammering.

"That was a good job, Elena." At Tseng's voice, she nearly jumped.

"Th… Thank you, Sir!"

Tseng fell silent again and Elena felt his eyes upon her. But when she looked up, the room was empty.

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_Thank you very much for reading! The next chapter will be about Reeve again, but Tifa is going to make her first appearance: Chapter 5: Wherein Reeve talks too much_

_Please review, if you like ;-)_


	5. Wherein Reeve talks too much

_This chapter is going to introduce Tifa and her relationship to Reeve or rather Reeve's feelings about her. I hope you will enjoy it!

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Chapter 5: Reeve: Wherein Reeve talks too much

"You really had no report?" Tifa's voice was anxious, so anxious that it hurt Reeve.

"If I'm telling you! No, Tifa, I'm truly sorry, but no one seems to have seen Cloud."

Tifa looked at her feet, seemed to draw a deep breath. At least, Reeve could see her narrow shoulders lifting. "It's been since we worked together, Reeve. His phone isn't even accessible anymore! I'm… I'm worried."

"I wouldn't worry. As I got the impression, that's the way Cloud is." He tried to say it as gently as possible. Of course, he would be worried. Perhaps Tifa had every right to be. But he didn't want her to worry even more.

"Sure." Her answer was sour and full of disappointment. It hurt Reeve. "That's the way Cloud is…" She didn't sound as if she believed him and why should she? He was a bad liar at best. And now, he didn't know what to say. Tifa's breath was quivering as she drew it in.

"Please, Reeve," Her voice wasn't more than a whisper. "If you know something – anything! about him, please let me know!"

Her voice was close to breaking and Reeve had to restrain himself not to reach out and comfort her. Instead, he nodded and answered softly: "I will, certainly. I am going to ask around, I promise!" It hurt so much to see Tifa like this. Her eyes were dark with worries when she looked at him, glittering too brightly.

"I'm… I'm just worried. And – I don't know if I can stand it anymore without him… Marlene needs attention, too and – I just can't give it to her at the moment with Denzel like this! … And the bar…" her voice trailed off and Reeve feared that she was going to break on him. He felt he wouldn't know how to react to it, only that then, he wouldn't let her go home again. But before he could even think of any answer, Tifa closed her eyes, wiped over them with the back of her hand and drew a deep breath. "It's just not easy at the moment."

Reeve finally found his voice again. "Tifa, if there is anything I can do, let me know, please! I would really like to help you out."

She was smiling. Her beautiful but sad smile. "That's very kind of you, Reeve, but I don't think it'll be necessary. I'll manage."

"I… I could take care of the boy for a while."

Tifa was suddenly studying him, as if she was tempted.

"Here, Denzel would be under all the observation he needs. You wouldn't need to come each day and bring him here. It…"

She was still smiling. "That's really kind of you, Reeve, but…"

"You wouldn't trouble me, don't worry. I like Denzel, he's a well mannered boy. And, in this weather, it takes you longer and longer to walk here. And you don't let me help you with your business."

"Reeve, I'd like to, but at the moment – Denzel's been through a lot. Cloud left again and you know how he adores Cloud, then this new geostigma, the shock of it, all the examinations… He needs a little peace and rest, a surrounding that isn't always changing. He needs to be a normal boy…. I appreciate your offer, very much, but I don't think it would be good. Not at the moment."

Reeve smiled but felt so very disappointed. "I see. Only, please be careful with him. Don't tell too many people about his condition." The words had just slipped him and he regretted them the moment he had spoken them.

"Why? I mean, you said yourself that it needs to be known that it's not dangerous."

He couldn't give her the entire reason, not if it was just a suspicion, but he couldn't lie to her, either. "Shin-Ra, that is: Rufus Shinra is back in town. They are interested in the new developments, too. I don't know how interested they are, exactly."

Tifa frowned and there was anger in her frown. "What are they doing here? Weren't they finished?"

At least, he had gotten her onto another topic to think about. "No, they certainly aren't." He sighed. He couldn't tell her more on the subject, so much for sure; business was business, after all.

"Don't tell me you work with them?!" Tifa gave him a disgusted look. "Don't tell me you believe their lies!"

"I've known Rufus since he was still a kid and I don't think he's lying on this. Also, it's not important whether they lie, it's important what they do." That was his answer to all his doubts he had with Rufus, even though the money told quite a clear story. Rufus wanted to atone up, he was sure.

Tifa looked at him, doubting and Reeve was very sorry he had even mentioned Shin-Ra. "Is Denzel better?", he asked at last, changing the subject again.

Tifa's features softened again. "Much, it seems. The fever hasn't returned this entire week. He seems to be well again, for the time being. They tell me that they want to have a look at him again tomorrow morning, before school, so he doesn't miss anything." She took a look at her watch. "It's almost time to pick them up now." She smiled at him. In this light, the shadows under Tifa's eyes clearly showed. "Thanks for listening, Reeve."

Reeve looked at her, concerned. This entire movement had seemed so tired. "I can have a room set up for you, then, you won't need to get back here so early tomorrow morning."

Tifa seemed to hesitate, then shook her head. "I can't do that, Reeve. I have a bar to open tonight. It has to be open… otherwise – I have to make money, someway." She squared her shoulders and the firm look in her eyes looked so ultimately sad. It hurt him so much to see how she tried to be strong where other people would have long since given in.

"It'll snow heavily tonight…"

"And that will bring lots of customers in for warm punch."

Reeve smiled and knew he looked as sad as he felt. Tifa always seemed so fragile, but beware who wanted to protect her; her harness was like steel.

"Get home safely, then. And be careful tomorrow morning. If you need help…"

She smiled at him. "I know whom to turn to. Thank you, Reeve!"

She squeezed his hand shortly, dryly and off she went. Reeve asked himself if she knew how sad she looked when she smiled. He really liked Cloud, but he couldn't quite forgive him how he treated her. Didn't he appreciate her? Didn't he know how rich he was to have her? The employees were pouring out of the building, but he only watched her leave, one child on each hand, into the grey afternoon and the air filled with snow.

If he had been Cloud, he wouldn't have left her side for a moment, would have supported her in all her needs.

But he was Reeve Tuesti. The one who had worked for Shin-Ra, the one who had steered Cait Sith. Perhaps that was all he could ever to; make sure she reached her aim safely.

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_Yet another step towards yet another conflict. For, as mentioned above the first chapter, Reeve won't be the only one who's interested in Tifa... ^^_

_Next chapter: Chapter 6: Wherein Shin-Ra is visited by an unlikely visitor. I believe you can guess whom I'm aiming at._

_I would be very grateful for critique or suggestions, so: please review!_


	6. Wherein ShinRa has an unlikely visitor

_Hey, there, again. Another chapter from Tseng's point of view and I do think the title gives it away. I hope you will enjoy!

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Chapter 6: Tseng: Wherein Shin-Ra is visited by an unlikely visitor

_The air is cold, full of wind, the wind is blowing directly into his face. He is running, as fast as his feet can carry him so he won't be too late. Around him, the rubble of Midgar rises into the leaden sky, he slips again and again when he is climbing over stones. It's not far anymore, but the wind is blowing right into his face. His feet are like lead, although he tries to run, he is slow, painfully slow. Too slow! He won't make it in time! But he has to make it in time. Otherwise… _

_He has nearly reached the Shin-Ra Tower now, it is rising right in front of him, but with every step he runs, it seems to move away again._

_There! On top of the building, he sees a figure moving and suddenly, it's like he's close by, only, he is still running and the tower isn't coming closer. The white clothes are blown open by the wind, showing the black west underneath. The blond hair is blowing in the wind. Rufus winks at him and then turns away and a cloud passes and he can't see him anymore. Tseng yells, as loud as he can, for Rufus to stop and wait for him, but no noises escape his throat. Of course not, he's too far away for Rufus to hear him. And he is not getting any closer. Rufus doesn't even look at him before the wind takes him over the edge and suddenly, Tseng is at the bottom of the building, the canon with the net between his hands and..._

"Tseng?"

The Turk startled up as something hit against his chair, recognized his name and for a horrible moment thought it came from the dream.

Instead, Rufus was standing in front of the couch and between all the fear, the guilt and his hammering heart from the dream, Tseng felt ashamed to be found asleep.

"I'm sorry, I didn't want to wake you," Rufus went on. He was holding some papers in his hand and was studying him. Once again, there was no telling if he was sincere.

"Don't be," Tseng replied tiredly and tried to banshee the fear from his bones and concentrate on the present. He blinked at Rufus, felt the fear still clinging to his stomach and reached out for the papers. "What is it?"

Rufus sat down and let Tseng look through the file. There was a rather bemused look on this face. "_This_ is on this church. The one you persuaded me to go to."

"Aeris Gainsborough's. Don't tell me you are honestly interested in turning it into a spa?" The dream had left a sour taste on his tongue.

"Nonsense. When we rebuild Midgar, I want to turn it into a memorial. People will like that." He sounded a little impatient.

"So, now you want me to take care of it?" Tseng was surprised. That wasn't a job he usually got to do.

"No, I don't. I wanted to talk to you about something else."

Tseng nodded, tried to get rid of the fragments of the dream that were haunting his head. "If you will excuse me, I'll be back in a moment."

Rufus gave only a short nod as Tseng left through the door to his Turks' quarters. He didn't like to let Rufus wait, but he had to focus and for that he had to get the dream out of his head.

A tired face was looking back at him from the mirror. Tseng rubbed his eyes. It wasn't like Rufus to wake him and he must have seen that he had been asleep, certainly. But it wasn't like him, Tseng, either, to fall asleep in the middle of the day. Only, he hadn't slept well the last few nights. This dream had been like a lot of the others he had had. The others had been about Kadaj and his gang, the fear that they might come back as geostigma did. And then, he was worried about Rufus. After Elena's report, both of them should have relaxed, a little at least. But Rufus was still working like a berserker. As if he still feared to die soon.

And then, there was Elena. Elena, he just couldn't make out.

He splashed some water into his face, dried it off again. The fear wasn't getting any less, nor was he feeling more awake now.

Rufus was studying yet another file when he arrived, a clock was ticking lunch time away. The other Turks wouldn't come into this room soon; Reno and Rude were out training the new Turks. Elena had called in ill this morning. But Tseng was rather thankful for the silence as he sat down.

For a while, Rufus was still looking at the file and Tseng tried to wake more. Behind the windows, the wintry twilight was swallowing the snowflakes. They had been falling steadily since the early morning. After lunch, he would better call all units to stop moving tonight and stay warm until the next morning. It was supposed to storm.

"Reeve called ten minutes ago." Rufus' sudden announcement startled Tseng up who realized that his thoughts had gone down the dark road his dream had taken him to. He didn't reply, but looked at Rufus.

"He said a geostigma patient disappeared. A fifteen-year-old." Rufus closed the file. "Reeve asks whether we have anything to do with that."

"We don't."

"Of course we don't. But I would like the Turks to take a look at it, see where he disappeared to. Reeve suspects us and I don't like that." He was eyeing him and with a jolt, Tseng noticed that he wasn't wearing his contact and the eye that was looking at him was as good as red now.

"I will."

"That kid, it seems to have disappeared directly from hospital."

"It's not unusual for patients to feel restless after a while. Some of them, as I don't think I have to remind you, like to take walks on their own."

Rufus smiled a little at the critique. "That's what I'm thinking, too. I suggested it to Reeve but Reeve wouldn't have any of it."

"Perhaps the boy met a girl. I'll send some Turks to investigate the matter." Tseng looked at the clock. "Don't you want to go for lunch?"

Rufus didn't answer. He was still studying him calmly and Tseng felt as if he could see perfectly through him. The red eye was disturbing. Rufus put the file onto the table and looked at him again, solemnly. "There's no need to worry, Tseng."

Tseng replied his gaze. There was a lot to worry about, he thought.

Rufus must have seen it on his face for he went on: "Didn't you hear Elena's report? It's just a mark. Though I can't say I'm surprised. After all the harm my company brought upon the planet, it is only natural that the lifestream wants to avenge, isn't it?" He was looking at the stain on the back of his hand and closed his fingers to a fist before he went on: "They aren't coming back, Tseng. I'm sure of it." His eyes were on him directly now and Tseng felt caught off guard for a moment. "There's no way they can come back. Nothing left of Jenova, anymore, you see? There's nothing to worry about."

"If there's nothing to worry about, why are you still working so furiously, then?" Tseng only uttered this quietly. Outside, the day was greying more and more now. The snow was falling heavily, slightly yellowed by the light from below. There wasn't much light left for the room.

Rufus gave a soft laugh. "There's much work to do, isn't there?"

That wasn't exactly a lie and Tseng gave Rufus a short look. "Yes. But not that much."

"Certainly." Rufus smiled wryly and reached out for the file before he got up. "I've got a phone call to return." He turned to the door which would eventually lead him to his office.

"What about lunch?" Tseng insisted.

Rufus clapped the file against his leg, considering, and shrugged. "I don't think I feel like eating."

Tseng gave a sigh. "Don't skip supper, too."

"Don't you know better than ordering me around, Tseng?" It was a playful remark, uttered with a small smile, but Tseng knew that Rufus was slightly annoyed. He had known Rufus wouldn't like it, but some things just had to be said.

"I'm sorry, Shachou," he answered equally playful and without a twitch of his face and got up himself. He, at least, would eat.

"Oh, Tseng?" Rufus had turned in the doorway again and Tseng braced himself. That tone, that beginning of a sentence was never a good sign with him. "Yes, Rufus?"

"Don't ever dare to have a nightmare again. That's an order."

Tseng smiled. "Yes, Sir."

****

The rest of the afternoon continued in twilight. Outside, the snowfall was steadying and like the snowdrifts outdoors, the paper was mounting inside.

Tseng tried to absorb into work as Rufus did, but for him, work had never been a substitute for life or worries. Still, Rufus' words had helped. He didn't feel as oppressed anymore. Perhaps, this night at least he would be able to sleep well.

Outside, the day was starting to darken away, although it wasn't past four o'clock, yet. The flakes seemed to multiply, the wind was intensifying. The idle snowfall was now showing every sign of the upcoming weather. Their employees should be home now and Tseng didn't much envy the Turks that were still out. Reno and Rude were due any second now and right, just as he started thinking about them, his telephone rang.

"Yes?"

Four minutes later, he was standing in Rufus' office.

"What is it, Tseng?" Rufus didn't even look up from his papers.

"Miss Lockheart wishes to see you."

"Lockheart?" Rufus looked up, the name seemed to take a while to sink, but then, his face turned into as much surprise as Tseng had felt when he had answered the call. "_Tifa_ Lockheart? Strife's little sidekick?"

"It seems so."

Rufus frowned. "What on Gaia does _she_ want?"

"She says she'll only talk to you."

"Doesn't she have some trees to hug?"

Tseng suppressed a small smile. "Apparently not."

Rufus put his chin into his hand and pulled a sour face but then smoothed again: "Why should I bother to talk to her…" The question was rhetorically and Rufus returned to his work.

"She said she'll stay until you talked to her," Tseng insisted after a moment. If he was honest, he was rather curious why Tifa had come, of all people, to them.

"Can't be too long. She has a bar to run. Tell her I'm not available. I'm busy, got the pox, malaria, whatever."

Tseng sighed although his own reaction hadn't been much different. "I suppose she's that kind of woman who'd come stalking to your office if you don't come to see her."

"Then please lock the door when you're leaving."

"Rufus, I think it would be a good idea if you went to see her. She is either very desperate or very determined when she's coming to see us."

Rufus looked up again. "My, my, she must have pestered you terribly to be so persistent." But he got up, putting his pen down. "I'm wondering what she wants, though."

Tseng nodded and followed him from the office. "Me, too."

"I'd know a hundred better places for her to go to then us. And I can't say I feel flattered that she still chose us."

Tseng agreed and waited until Rufus returned, this time with the contact on his left eye. The jacket was looking tidier and his expression a little more stern. The elevator arrived with a solemn 'beep' and Rufus stepped in first.

"Do you have any idea why she might be here? I'm not imprisoning any of her friends, nor am I trying to destroy the planet again… is she bored?"

Tseng gave a slight laugh. "I am as clueless as you are, Shachou."

The elevator gave another 'beep' and opened onto the first floor.

"This way, please. I gave order to show her into a meeting room."

"Hm." Rufus was rather deep in thoughts now. Perhaps he was trying to come up with a reason, but as hard as Tseng had tried so far, he hadn't found any.

Suddenly, Rufus tapped his forehead. "Oh, I think I know what she wants." He was smirking now.

"Indeed?"

"I told that kid of hers I wanted to pull down that sorry excuse of a church and make it a spa, didn't I?"

Tseng frowned.

"Now, _then_ we should be over and done with her pretty quickly." Tseng saw him smirking as he opened the door to the small room with the sitting area.

"Miss Lockheart, what have I done to deserve this honour?"

Tifa Lockheart, who had until now waited in a chair, spun up and around into their direction. Nearly in the same moment, the two children, which seemed to have accompanied her, drew up to her as if to hide from the intruders. Her look was cold as she focussed them and the gesture with which she kept the children behind her, clearly suggested that she wanted to protect them. "I hope you don't deserve it, Shinra!"

Rufus frowned at that. "Now, do stay civil, will you? If you are here just to insult me, I may as well leave."

Tifa still glared at him and Tseng could see how Rufus answered her gaze calmly and a little bemused. But even before either of them utter another word, the boy – Denzel – suddenly squealed: "That's them, Tifa, they were in Aeris' church!"

"Denzel, not _now_." Tifa hadn't taken her eyes from them and now, Tseng exchanged a short look with Rufus, who, same as he, seemed to be puzzled. Despite that, Tseng hadn't liked the tone in the boy's voice. He sounded angry. Aggressive, even.

"I have a business to run, would you mind to tell me what you are here for, or can't you just pay for heating anymore and needed a place to warm up?"

Tifa glared at him. "Where is Cloud?" Her voice was full of venom. And, much to Tseng's surprise, also full of fright.

"_Cloud_?" For a moment, Rufus blew his cold and just looked surprised. "You come here to ask _me_ where _Cloud_ is? Why don't you bother Reeve? I'm sure he knows a lot better!"

Tifa glared back. "Don't act…"

"Wait." The hint of a mocking smile started to spread on Rufus face. "Don't tell me you've already been to Reeve and he doesn't know, either?"

"Stop your show, Shinra and tell me what you've done to him!" Her voice was perhaps a little too harsh, nearly tipping over.

Rufus' expression changed into a sober though condescending one. "My dear Miss Lockheart, my company has nothing to do with Cloud's disappearance. If indeed he has disappeared." He paused a little, but much to Tseng's relief didn't leave it at that: "My company and I have no interest in him. The time when I might have considered him as a bodyguard has passed, and I bear him no grudge. After all," Rufus smirked wryly. "thanks to him and your little group we still have a tomorrow." He flicked his hair and turned. "If you'll excuse me now, I've got _serious_ work to do."

Tifa frowned, and it seemed to cost her every ounce of energy to keep that frown up. "Wait. - Don't you really know _anything_?"

The question drove a shiver down Tseng's spine. Tifa had to be desperate to come here and ask them, but he hadn't guessed how desperate she really was until she had uttered these words. Her voice was nearly quivering. Rufus stopped and turned back. He seemed to look her straight in the eye, this time without any mockery or even expression. Except, maybe, regret. "I'm sorry, Miss Lockheart. I don't know anything about his whereabouts."

Tseng saw her face collapsing into a stony shadow, but all she did was nod. Her reply was flat, "Okay. I'm sorry I bothered you." She motioned the children towards her, but when they had gathered, she suddenly looked up again. The fire that Tseng thought had died out moments before was flaring high again. "If I ever find out you've done something to him, though, I swear I will come back and kill you, Shinra."

Rufus shrugged, uncaring. "I suppose that means we will never meet again." He let her and her children pass but followed them onto the corridor that overlooked the entrance hall. Tseng followed, keeping closer to Rufus this time. Tifa seemed in a mood to explode any moment and Rufus was very well capable of triggering that wilfully.

Only, when they entered the entrance hall, all conversation on that topic ceased. The snowfall had increased quicker than Tseng had expected, and now that the day had started darkening away, the visibility in the twilight was below five metres. Tseng mechanically thanked himself for his precaution to order everybody to stop their endeavours for the night. But the issue at hand seemed much more important now.

"Look at all the snow, Denzel!" The girl's surprise seemed to have overcome her fear. "Is that a blizzard?"

"No. We don't get blizzards here, Marlene." Denzel seemed pretty sure of that. Tseng wasn't at all anymore and Rufus was frowning, eyes wandering from the window to Tifa. She, too, was staring at the snow flurry outside and seemed unbelieving and stunned at once.

"Are you on foot, Miss Lockheart?" Rufus was the first of the adults to say something.

Tifa glared at him. "Of course I'm on foot!"

Tseng indicated a shake of his head. "It's no weather to be on foot."

"Thank you very much!" Tifa snapped at him.

"Can you get them home safely? It would be _very_ bad for business if something happened to them after they talked to me." Rufus had switched to Wutain and turned to Tseng.

"It should be possible. Although… It should be possible." Tseng replied in the same language and caught the estranged look Tifa was giving them. Her surprise turned into something close to mockery when she seemed to realize which language they were speaking.

"If you have doubts, I don't like it.… - They'll have to stay here, then." Rufus didn't like his own suggestion, so much was obvious.

"She's a security problem, Shachou. She just threatened to murder you."

"I rather have a security problem than bad business."

"What are they saying, Tifa?" Marlene whispered, clinging to Tifa's hand. Denzel just glared at them warily.

Tseng had to admit that Rufus was having a good point again and gave a short nod although he didn't like it. "I'll increase your security, though."

Rufus smirked at that and turned back to Tifa: "Miss Lockheart, why don't you honour us with your presents a little longer?"

Tifa turned away from Marlene whom she had just explained that Rufus and Tseng had been sharing secrets in Wutain. "Stay for the night with _you_? I'd rather take my chance with the snow, thank you very much!"

"Don't let your resent against me overcome your better judgement. If I were Reeve, you wouldn't hesitate to stay here, in this weather."

"If you were Reeve, I wouldn't think you'd kill me in my sleep," Tifa shot back.

"Now, why would I kill you in your sleep? _I_ bear you no grudge."

"On your say-so."

Rufus let his hand slip into his jacket and pulled his mobile with almost the same gesture he might have pulled his gun with, and flipped it open before he pointed it towards Tifa with a wry smile. "Why don't you ask Reeve? I'm sure he'll recommend you to stay."

Tseng followed Tifa's eyes from the mobile to Rufus' face, didn't miss the moment of hesitation and how her hand twitched. She slowly shook her head. "Reeve would believe a den full of hungry lions if they told him they were vegetarians."

Rufus smiled, charmingly, still pointing the mobile. "That's not the point. He'd know you were here, you know?"

Tifa hesitated, seemed tempted, but then shook her head. "You aren't fooling me, Shinra." She turned to her children. It was nearly dark in the lobby by now. "We are leaving."

Rufus flipped his mobile shut and shrugged coolly. "Have it your way. Just don't come and blame me when your children perish outside."

At this, the ultimate cold in Rufus' voice and perhaps the mentioning of the children, Tifa stopped, turned back, slowly. "Where would we stay?"

Tseng was unsure that the triumphing smirk around the edges of Rufus' mouth really didn't show to her. "I could offer you a room in the Turk's quarters or one of the guest rooms in the residential area."

Tseng would have preferred the Turk's quarters. That was far enough from them to be of no danger.

Tifa nodded, slowly, eyes trailing back between the outside, the two whispering children at her side and Rufus. The visibility outside was below five metres now. Still, she hesitated before she replied. "Alright. But we are not staying in the Turk's quarters."

Tseng cursed inwardly. Everything else would be complicated. Sometimes, he hated Rufus for being so uncaring about his security.

Rufus shrugged. "As you please. Feel free and call Reeve, if that makes you feel safer."

Tseng flipped open his mobile and muttered a small massage into the speaker as Rufus invited Tifa to follow them to the elevator. There, he observed Tifa closely. She stood at the other end of the elevator, the children behind her. She was afraid of them, so much was obvious. To her, Rufus was the one who had willingly and uncaringly ordered her execution. To her, next to Rufus, he was nothing but this head-Turk. The one who had followed Aeris and tried to abduct her. Did she even know that he tried to protect Aeris? Did she even know how much he had loved Aeris? No. The only thing she knew was that he had hit Aeris.

The doors to the elevator opened to the living quarters and Tseng automatically made sure that he always stayed between Rufus and Tifa. It would be a difficult evening, not to mention a difficult night.

* * *

_So, this is it, for now. This chapter turned out to be a little longer, but I hope you enjoyed nonetheless. The next chapter will describe the rest of the evening, especially, I think, a conversation between Rufus and Tifa. I'm sorry they aren't getting along at the moment, but I believe that considering what happened in the game, there isn't much of a way Tifa could feel much better about Rufus than contemptuous._

_Anyway, as usual, I'd be grateful for views, opinions and reviews ^^_


	7. Wherein Tifa Thinks She Made a Mistake

Chapter 7: Wherein Tifa believes she made a mistake

Tifa had been surprised. Surprised by Rufus' conduct to offer them to stay over night, surprised that he would even speak the lowly tongue of a country Shin-Ra had suppressed. She had been even more surprised by the building and the entrance hall. It was the entrance hall of a company, a very well going company, and yet, it had been the first time in years for her to see the emblem of Shin-Ra again. To all her knowledge, _there was no company_. And yet, Rufus had said he was busy. It frightened her.

She and the children were guided to the room by what seemed to be a janitor. Just according to Shin-Ra standards, it was big, but perhaps it only seemed big. Behind the small entrance room, there was a bathroom, a small closet and in the middle of the main room three futons with blankets on them.

"Where is all the furniture?" Marlene asked with a puzzled gaze at a small table.

"That's cheap!" Denzel complained. "They have us sleep on the floor!"

Tifa looked around her again. "No… it's like in _Wutai_." The room certainly wasn't cheap, but why was it in Wutain style? Why was the heir of Shin-Ra conversing in the language of people his company had nearly extinguished?

"Ugh! Does Yuffi also sleep on the floor?"

"It's not the floor. There's a mattress below the blankets."

"Still," Denzel insisted and strolled through the room. Marlene followed him after a moment's hesitation. Tifa looked around on her own, without moving a bit and uneasy. There was the entrance door, but all the other doors were only sliding doors, difficult to block. The floor was made out of soft wood. Easy to wipe clean. It was a nice room, though. There were some stylish calligraphies on the walls which must have cost a fortune. The room had a nice temperature while outside the window, the storm was raging. It would have been insane to walk home. But she wished she had. She sat down on the stair to the room and felt so lonely again. Lonely and most of all afraid. She heard the noise of the children from the bath. How could she know that Shin-Ra hadn't done anything to Cloud? How could she believe Rufus? That man! His entire appearance still sent a shiver down her spine. All manners and breading, but below that shallow disguise lies and treachery. How could she ever had pitied him? She shuddered. He had ordered her execution so… so offhanded! He had shot at them as if they were game. His speech, those words half carried away by the wind, had been so wilfully cruel. His soft, mellow voice still haunted her dreams.

That man, he wasn't only cruel, he wanted to be cruel. He took joy in hurting people, she was sure, and shuddered again.

At least, he hadn't seemed to care to see her. So, perhaps, he would keep out of their way. She had always thought she didn't bear a grudge but pitied him. But now he frightened her, more than every monster she had fought.

The children were arguing over a piece of soap as it seemed and Tifa reached into her pocket for her mobile.

"Hello?" The answer at the other end was nearly immediate and Tifa had never before been as relieved to hear Reeve's voice. She was so relieved she had indeed reached him.

"Reeve? Thank Gaia!"

"Tifa? What's wrong? Is something wrong?" Why did Reeve always sound so concerned?

"It's…" She felt sickness in her stomach.

"Did you get stuck in the weather somewhere?"

"Yes. Sort of."

"Where are you? Are you safe?"

"I'm… I'm with Shin-Ra."

The other end of the connection was silent for a moment. "Shin-Ra? What are you doing at Shin-Ra?"

"I… Look, after we talked, I went here to get them to talk. If they've done something to Cloud. They made me wait for so long and the weather turned so bad…"

"Ah!" Reeve sounded relieved, much to her surprise. "I'm glad they let you stay."

"Reeve?" She suddenly felt a little silly. "You don't think… I mean, they… Rufus… You don't think they'll do anything, do you?" The children had stopped arguing but she could still hear them.

Reeve was silent for a moment. "No, of course not. Rufus has no reason to harm you. …"

"Do you think he needs a reason?" She almost whispered that.

"Rufus? Listen, Tifa. Rufus is no psychopath. I've known him since he became Vice President and the only thing he struck me as was smart – smarter than his father which says a lot. Sometimes a little callous, maybe. I never considered him as truly dangerous. A little drastic in his ideas, impetuous, perhaps, but not a threat. And - he has matured since then… He's a business man and a very calculating one. Don't be afraid of him. If he invited you to stay, he won't harm you."

"Okay…" Reeve's words were calming although they were completely contradictory to her impression of Rufus.

"I'll… as soon as the weather allows it, I will send over someone to pick you up, okay?"

Tifa felt her heart calming again with relieve. "There's no need to, Reeve."

"No, no. It won't be a problem. You won't trouble me. I'll send someone for you."

"That's not necessary, Reeve. But thank you!"

"Don't worry. Get a decent night's sleep, enjoy the food if not the company and give my regards to the children. I can't imagine many safer places for you to be than Shin-Ra. Really, there's no need to worry. I'll have you picked up for the Denzel's inspection tomorrow."

Tifa smiled. Reeve always sounded so caring. "Thank you, Reeve," she whispered into the phone and wasn't sure whether he still heard it.

"Tifa-a!" Marlene was coming from the bathroom and sounded upset. "Denzel says I will have to sleep in the bathtub. He says, otherwise I will roll from bed and then sleep on the floor and catch a cold! I don't want to sleep in the bathtub! I…."

Tifa pushed herself up. "Nonsense. You won't roll from your bed. Denzel, don't always tease Marlene!"

Denzel came out of the bathroom, looking at least a little guilty. But when he saw Tifa's expression, his face turned into concern. "Are you alright, Tifa? They aren't giving you any trouble, are they?"

He must have gotten this sentence from Cloud. With Cloud, it had always sounded so very caring. But Denzel was still a child. With him, it just sounded pathetically sweet and it caused Tifa to smile. She ruffled the boy's hair and put on a happy smile. "Don't worry, Denzel, everything is alright."

"Are you sure? Because… if they give you a hard time, I will teach them a lesson!"

"You can't teach them a lesson. They had guns, didn't you see?" Marlene pointed out. "At least the taller Wutain had one."

Tifa frowned. "You heard Marlene, Denzel. She's right."

Denzel looked at her, stubbornly, but didn't talk back and perhaps that should have worried her. Marlene looked as intimidated as Tifa felt. She wished she hadn't been naïve enough to come to Shin-Ra. She wished she had stayed at Reeve's place. Or gone home. She had no idea how to scratch together the money she wouldn't make tonight. But before she could tell her children to cheer up, there was a knock on the door that startled her around. A moment later, a red head appeared.

"Hmpf… Yo, Tifa! Good to see you! - Oi! You brought the kids! – I've got orders to tell you that there'll be supper in – wait – seven minutes now." Reno's gesture as he looked at his watch was as exuberant as his appearance. Suddenly, Tifa felt relieved. Shin-Ra, that was also Reno and Rude. And they had never harmed them, even thought they had every chance in the world. There was nothing to fear from them.

"Hi, Reno. Where's Rude?" She got up.

"Oh! He's upstairs." Reno waved at the children, Marlene, who was looking at him a little confused and Denzel who was frowning. "I'm Reno!" Reno introduced himself to the children and winked. "And if I'm not much mistaken, you're Denzel and Marlene. We've met, you know, Denzel? Well, maybe you won't remember…. Have you seen the entrance hall already? 'Cause you have… must have passed right through it on you way in. Great, isn't it?"

Denzel narrowed his eyes and Marlene smiled a little shyly while Reno went on: "Let's see… we might get to the little garden later on. There's a lot of snow there. Bet you can't build such a good snowman as me and Rude!"

"We build the best snowman in our area!" Marlene answered back. She was still clinging to Tifa but wasn't shy enough not to answer.

"Yeah, but I bet you don't have Turks like us over there!"

"You can't be better than us. You have to work. Marlene and me, we had the entire winter to practice!"

"We will see about that! Rude and me, we challenge you! _And_: We will win!"

"What will Rude say about that?" Tifa interrupted as Denzel accepted the challenge under protest. She felt relieved. Reno genuinely seemed to like children.

Reno turned back to her and shrugged. "Nothing. If I go, he goes, too. – Hey, come on, Tifa! Don't look as if the planet's going to die tonight! We're on your side now! Relax!"

Tifa smiled, but felt a little of her anxiousness returning as Reno led them into a functional dining room. First at all, she saw Tseng, standing half with his back to them. His cold eyes caught and froze her when they entered the room. Gaia! She still remembered how he had treated Aeris! Hit her, for Gaia's sake! How he had talked to her when he was about to die! Now, he was half shadowing his master and his cold, coal eyes were following them as they closed in. He turned his head to Rufus, only for the doubt of a second, and said something. And then, Rufus himself turned from the window, a friendly expression on his face.

"I do hope you found everything to your satisfaction, Miss Lockheart?"

Tifa didn't know what to say. His friendliness took her completely aback. If he had been rough or cynic, perhaps she wouldn't have been as scared. She cleared her throat. "Yes, thank you. Although… the room seems a little empty."

"You'll find most of the rooms around here that way." Rufus smiled smugly. "I prefer simplicity over pomp."

Tifa gave an awkward nod. "I see." And indeed, she had. Same as the corridors they had come through, the dining room, too, wasn't filled with more than the necessary. Everything looked tidy, clinically clean, but also elegant.

"The floor is creaking", Denzel suddenly announced and turned away from Reno. There was some sort of contempt in his voice and Tifa held her breath. But Rufus just smiled at the boy. Smiled like a predator. "Is it? I never noticed."

"It's creaking like hell, wherever you step", Denzel continued encouraged perhaps by Rufus' friendly expression and Tifa's breath stopped for the second time: "Denzel, that's enough!" Although, she, too, had wondered why the floor was making such strange noises.

"Don't tell me you haven't noticed, Miss Lockheart. You must have walked at least one nightingale floor in Wutai." He smirked, slightly, and then turned to the table although his eyes stayed on her. "Now, why don't we all sit down?"

Tifa stared at his inviting gesture, the polished smile. Why did he tell her that he had a nightingale's floor? To _impress_ her? No, certainly not. To _warn_ her? Of what? That they would hear her approach? Could it be? No. Impossible. Rufus Shinra couldn't be afraid that she would kill him. Or was he?

She followed him to the table while Reno dragged the children after him. What… that conversation Tseng and Rufus had held, what if they had held it in Wutain to keep her from knowing that they feared her? And if they feared _her_, did she still have to fear _them_?

Tifa's eyes wandered to Tseng who was following Rufus like a shadow, so close that she wouldn't even have the time to think about lunging out. It did lessen her fright a little, though. Still, she would keep a good eye on Reno and the children. Reno and Rude were the two Turks she perhaps trusted, but who knew what they had been ordered?

"What are you doing here in Edge again? I thought you were in Junon." She realized her tone was a little more hostile than necessary.

Tseng lowered himself onto the seat next to Rufus without taking his cold eyes from her. Marlene claimed her left side.

Rufus answered her question with a solemn gaze: "I am here to rebuild Edge. Living conditions aren't good here, yet. I hope I can contribute to the power supply."

Tifa couldn't help but startle up at that, despite her fear. But Rufus must have caught the fire in her eyes or at least guessed it. Before she could even say something, he continued in his mellow voice: "Don't worry, Miss Lockheart. It is neither wise nor cost effective to build new mako-reactors." Food was served while Tifa asked herself if he was indeed as sincere as he acted: "My company's imprudent persistence on mako nearly brought our world to an end. I therefore changed Shin-Ra's policy to renewable energies. We are going – if you will permit me the expression – _green_. One of the benefits of our, well, devastated civilisation is that everything needs rebuilding, even the reactors. So, there aren't many obstacles to overcome."

"Do you really think there are _benefits_ to all this destruction?!" she snapped, disgusted, despite all her fear. Until then, everything Rufus had said had sounded to her own surprise pretty reasonable. His mellow voice had sounded so sincere, so silky, so engaging. So full of lies.

"Yes." Rufus looked at her, firmly. "There are benefits."

"Have you ever _looked_ around you?! Have you _seen_ how people are living?! Do you even know how many children have lost their parents?! How many are still starving and freezing everyday?! Don't tell me anything about 'benefits'!"

"So have people below the plate. Only, this situation makes people more aware of it and thus inclines to do something about it. _I_ have now, sadly too late, realized that I want to help these people."

"So", Tifa couldn't help but give a scornful smile. "You've turned into a saint?"

Rufus smirked and put his silverware down. "I don't pretend to be a saint. I am just trying to make up for the wrong doings of my company."

"So what if you earn a little money aside," she muttered. Next to Rufus, Tseng was frowning, but it seemed not at her words. He casted a look at Rufus which Rufus seemed to catch but ignored.

Rufus blinked, forced a smile. "Making money is the only thing I ever learned. If that's a way to rebuild this planet, it would be ridiculous to ignore it. Moreover, the money I make I can invest into the planet again."

Tifa fell silent. This was so very different from anything she had expected, so much like Cloud told her but she hadn't been able to believe. It seemed too good to be true. At the other end of the table, Denzel was just talking to Reno, and Rude seemed to be in deep and earnest conversation with Marlene. He even wore his glasses at the table, she noticed. She turned, although with difficulties, back to Rufus Shinra who seemed more civil and much less threatening than the last times she had met him. It gave her a shutter to think about what else this man was capable of.

"And when are you going to start?"

Rufus gave a laugh and exchanged a short glance with Tseng. "Why, I've long started. Do you think I would have left Junon if I hadn't been successful there, already?"

Tifa studied him, carefully. She wasn't sure if she could pronounce the next sentence without ruining what seemed to her only a thin layer of civility. "I haven't heard anything about Shin-Ra doing something anywhere. So, what I'm thinking is that nobody wanted anything to do with you, there. And now, you're back in Edge, hoping that things will turn out better, here."

For a moment, she feared she had gone too far, but the look on Rufus' face was rather bemused: "Now, what a surprise! You didn't seem to have a comm--- a sense for business so far." He pushed a strand of hair out of his face but turned serious in the same moment again. "I am going to change the subject now. If you want to linger and doubt my wish to atone, you may. But I think you came here for other and much more important matters." He brushed at his hair again. Perhaps he waited for here to contradict. But she didn't. He was right; she wouldn't much believe him. It would be completely fruitless to continue on that topic. Dangerous, even, perhaps.

"Change the topic, if you like", she replied flatly.

He nodded. "You came here to ask after your Cloud. Do you at least have any idea where he might have disappeared to?"

"Other than being abducted and killed by you, you mean?" Her tongue had been quicker than her thoughts again. His statement about her business sense had needed a while to dig in, but now, it burned like fire on her soul. How could he even _dare_ to say something the like, he who had ruined the world with his 'sense for business'?! But she was prudent enough not to fling _that_ into his face, too. She feared him too much to want to blow his cool.

"Other than that, yes." There was a flicker in his eyes. "Shin-Ra has nothing to do with his disappearance. In fact, it doesn't even suit me well. There will be a lot of people who will draw the same conclusion as you have. As you pointed out, such resentments are very obstructive for me at present. Thus, I hope you will accept my help?"

Tifa stared at him. _That_, of all things, she hadn't expected. But she did believe him. If one gave it a logical thought, Shin-Ra didn't have enough manpower these days to kill Cloud. And… and if Rufus _was_ lying that meant that she and her children were going to die this night, too. And she'd rather not think about it.

"When… when the Deepground affair was over, he left, several days later. He said he had a package to deliver."

"That's a while ago." There was a crease on Rufus' forehead now, as if he was calculating something. "Do you know whom he might have delivered it to?"

Tifa was half torn between glaring at him and giving in to the desperation that was suddenly welling up inside her again. "If I knew, don't you think I would have looked?"

"Doesn't matter. It should be traceable."

"Traceable?" She looked at him, bitterly. "He is _not_ traceable! That's the whole point! His mobile isn't even switched on!" It took all her strength and self control to bring forward the next sentence. "It hasn't been switched on for over a month now." She felt her voice quivering. The fear for Cloud was almost killing her. But there was no way she could brake down in front of Shinra.

Still, she saw Rufus' smile, smugly but much to her surprise kindly, too. "Don't worry. There are other means. Although, some details would simplify the search. Has he perhaps said anything when he left?"

Tifa shook her head, slowly. How often had she thought about it! How many nights had that question tortured her brain! The fear was eating at her like a lion now.

"His mobile, when did he switch it off?"

She shrugged again. The question chocked her throat. Rufus wasn't asking 'when', he was asking if the battery might have gone flat because Cloud had no way to reload it. Because something had happened to Cloud. She shook her head, desperately. "I… I don't know! I don't know when it stopped. A month ago, two, maybe. I… I just don't know!" Her voice, she knew, was shaking and she felt all the panic and desperation she had fought rising. All she could think of was that, perhaps, Cloud might be long dead, lying somewhere next to his wreaked motorbike and all she had ever done was call his mobile.

Rufus' expression was even sympathetic now and she hated him the more for it. "Do you not know whether he had some plans, people he might have gone after, crusades, something the like?"

"If I knew, don't you think I would have already looked?!" She had to put up all her self-control to stop herself from shouting at Rufus. "I have no idea! Why do you think I'm coming to _you_?!" No idea, no clue, no hope! The tears were stinging in her eyes and she knew her voice was breaking. Only one further question, she knew, and she would break down entirely.

"Well", Those two, cold blue eyes were locked onto her, expressionlessly. "I still have some resource Reeve hasn't." He studied her and she barely noticed, had to fight with all her strength to answer his gaze and to keep the raging fear, the guilt, the tears inside her. She couldn't break down in front of Shinra.

"Do you...," he interrupted himself in the same moment with a look first at her and then at his watch before he continued smoothly: "Well, perhaps we should postpone the conversation. It is quite late already and if I remember correctly, children shouldn't stay up too long."

Tifa stared at him, surprised. Was Rufus Shinra indeed _considerate_?!

He was looking directly at her now and even in her misery she couldn't miss that his smile was forced. "Or do you raise them anti-authoritarianly?"

"No", she mumbled, almost thankful. "I think you are right. It is really late."

* * *

_The next chapter will be dealing with Rufus again. And with an attempted assassination on him. _

_Please review ^^  
_


	8. Describes A Stormy Night

_Thanks for your reviews! So, now, we come to part three of the unfortunate evening ;-)

* * *

_

Chapter 8: Rufus: Describes a stormy night

It had slowly started during the meal. At first, it hadn't been more than a painful itch in his eye which had started to accumulate. It had bit by bit crept through his entire system while he had tried to keep up a civil conversation with Tifa Lockheart. It cost him his appetite and earned him Tseng's disapproval.

He hadn't been too considerate about Tifa Lockheart's state of mind when he had dissolved supper. He didn't even remember half of her answers concerning Cloud's whereabouts. At that point, the pain had started flaring up, only in short waves at first. But he had then, quickly, ended everything, as playfully as possible. He had made the time an excuse; that the children perhaps should go to bed. He had done everything to seem considerate about Tifa whose state of mind he couldn't have cared about less.

He had taken his leave from Tseng, quickly, nausea already at the brim.

Now, he was in his bathroom, on his knees. Hot waves of pain were flaring through his body, his skin was afire, the bones in heavy cramps. His eye hurt as if someone was trying to rip it from his skull. Waves of nausea twisted his stomach until there was no strength left even for twitching; waves of pain were surging through his body until he collapsed onto the floor, unable even to move a finger, while pain and sickness continued surging. They dragged him into a fiery darkness of flaring mako-billows that seemed to tear his body apart.

Almost eternity in the flaring dark passed before, slowly, the pain was ebbing away, leaving him on the cold floor in the icily lit bath, unable, nearly, to move. The world, the tiling, was slowly coming back into focus, spinning in front of his eyes. He felt his breaths coming in heavy gasps. His body was still aching to its bones and the light was stinging in his eyes. He felt too exhausted to even move a finger. Only slowly, the breaths began to come normally again, and cold started replacing the flames in his body.

Strenuously, he tried to force himself upright, felt his limbs shaking and stared, after what seemed an endless struggle, into the large mirror. He was as pale as the wall, but against all expectations, his eye hadn't dissolved into blood. There was no blood anywhere but its taste on his tongue. The pain was still throbbing numbly through his body, dying away bit by bit. It left only emptiness and exhaustion.

He turned away from the mirror, left the bathroom and was puzzled for a moment to find himself in his office.

Only slowly, it came to him that he and Tseng had agreed that it was easier to guard him in his office. And that there was still all the work to do he hadn't done because of Tifa Lockheart. Damn her.

Perhaps not damn her. He found her desperate stubbornness strangely alluring.

The room was still swimming in front of his eyes, so, instead of going back to his office, he sat down shakily on the couch in the anteroom. The nausea was still crouching through his stomach, the pain was still lingering in the bones. He felt dizzy, exhausted. He couldn't go back to work like that. Perhaps it was better to lie down for a moment and let the pain ebb entirely away.

The leather, at least, was calmingly cool against his skin and the pain diminished a little more when he stretched out. Though only to make room for exhaustion. He closed his eyes and listened to the pain that was dying away and the heat that was rising.

What a mess.

First Tifa Lockheart, who had questioned everything, had turned his entire day upside down and now this.

He shouldn't have lied. Tseng would find out now and he would resent it. He really shouldn't have lied about his state to the Turks back then. But he had thought he would die before Tseng could find out.

****

"Rufus."

_Tseng was calling him and he turned to the Turk._

"Rufus?"

_Tseng's voice was soft, none of the reproach in it he had expected.__ The icy wind was tearing at his clothes and the white ice field stretched in front of him._

"Rufus?" Suddenly, he felt a gentle touch on his shoulder and it came to him that he had to be sleeping. More than just a little disorientated, he opened his eyes, still felt Tseng's hand on his shoulder and pushed it away, groggily.

"What is it, Tseng?" He sat up, rubbed the sand from his eyes and looked at the Turk. In the same moment, he realized that he must have fallen asleep on the couch and that he was still fully clothed which certainly meant his suit would have some extra creases. He felt dizzy, thirsty. What ever he had dreamt must have been very chaotic. He remembered fields of ice, Tifa Lockheart, nonsense.

"I believe there has been an attempt of assassination."

Rufus rubbed his eyes, tried to wake up. He didn't feel well at all. Itchy, too warm, worn out. "Is that so? I'm surprised. I had the impression that Lockheart was more intimidated than aggressive." He felt too tired to react upon the faint nuance in Tseng's words.

"It's not Miss Lockheart who sneaked around with a knife."

Rufus looked at Tseng, by now surprised. "No?"

"It's the boy."

"Oh… – Do they train their children as assassins now?"

"That kid isn't trained. Although he is talented," Tseng pointed his hand towards him. "And I don't think Miss Lockheart knows."

Rufus took Tseng's hand and got up. His bones were still hurting slightly, but he still smirked. "Do you think it beyond her to train a child as an assassin?"

"Quite. However, we noticed him because of the nightingale floor. If Miss Lockheart had sent him…"

"She would have told him, of course…. Now, _this_ makes things rather interesting."

"Do you think so?" Tseng was looking at him, he was worried, Rufus noticed.

"We might be able to manipulate her." He smirked, tried to sound as coolly as usual although his head was humming.

Tseng didn't comment on that. "The knife the kid was armed with, I assume, he borrowed from Miss Lockheart. He didn't get very far, though. First, he got lost, then, we got him."

Rufus nodded, tried to concentrate. "Pathetic."

"There won't be enough material for a lawsuit. We just picked up a hostile kid with a knife, after all."

"Right, we suing Tifa Lockheart…. Great idea, Tseng. _That's_ going to be good for public relation."

"Well, what do you want us to do about him, Shachou?" Tseng seemed a little clueless, as clueless as Rufus felt. An adult with a knife was one thing, but a child?

"We'll scare them but let him go. Keep the tapes."

Tseng nodded, only half satisfied, as it seemed. "Yes, Sir." He let Rufus entered the living-room, now highly guarded. The boy was sitting on the couch, hands cuffed and staring angrily at a blurry-eyed Reno.

"Rude is fetching Miss Lockheart," Tseng informed him and Rufus nodded, brushing hair from his face. The gesture didn't help very much to deal with the fatigue or the exhaustion he felt. He studied the boy for a moment. The boy – Denzel – stared back, stubbornly. But he couldn't hide his fear.

The more Rufus studied that kid, the more anger started to flare up inside him. Did that pathetic bundle of a child really thought he could kill him?! Who did he think they were?! Who did he think _he_ was?! He wouldn't even have needed his gun to deal with the kid! That child wasn't even worth the sleep he lost over him.

"You sneaked into the living-quarters, armed with a knife. – I expect you want to explain yourself?" Rufus said at last, a mocking smile on his lips.

The boy opened his mouth but then looked away. The light was flickering.

"Oh, well. If you don't want to explain, I will have to draw my own conclusions." Rufus flicked his hair, as offhanded as possible. "Though, I don't really want to draw conclusions. Because, the first conclusion I'd jump to is that you came to _kill_ somebody. The only one worth killing in this building is me. Do you know what we usually do with people who try to kill me?"

The boy barely shook his head, clearly fearful now. There wasn't even stubbornness left and his lower lip was quivering. It was so pathetic! He was trying to avoid Rufus' eyes who searched the boy's while he waited for a reaction. But none came and Rufus felt tiredness tearing at him. "We execute them. Have you ever witnessed an execution?"

The boy didn't move. But he was clearly shaking.

"Well, you will. You just booked the best places for yourself, you know? First person perspective, it'll be dead funny."

The light bubble in the lamp closest to the boy burned out with a small 'ping'. The boy was almost shaking now, eyes wide with fright and Rufus didn't need Tseng's look to know that he was perhaps overdoing it. He gave a sigh. Where was Tifa? The boy was dead scared now, he had his revenge and wanted to discharge of him, so why wasn't she coming? A scared child wasn't even interesting. Adults, they would react in different, most interesting ways, but a scared child was just pathetic.

"Very well", he concluded after another moment of silence. An idea had come to his mind. Perhaps a cruel one, but maybe worth the game. "Let's stop playing games. You and I know that you came to kill me tonight. You and I also know that I should have you executed for it. I have a better idea, though: why don't you become my bodyguard?" He heard Tseng sucking in his breath. "Join the Turks. Help to rebuild this world and make it a better place."

The boy's head had shot up, he was staring at Rufus now, completely stunned, the fear still clearly written over his face, but before the words could even dig in, the door burst open and Tifa stood in the doorway.

"What are you doing with Denzel?!" Her voice was nearly breaking with anger and, also, as Rufus noted to his surprise, with fright. Tifa Lockheart, he had no illusions, was able to kill all of them and rescue the boy, but still, she seemed to be frightened to death. Interesting.

"Now, Miss Lockheart," he turned around to her. Next to him, he felt Tseng straightening, preparing to fight, "shouldn't it be we who ask the questions?" A surge of heat was flooding his body and his knees suddenly felt weaker.

Tifa stared at him. "Cut it out, Shinra! What are you doing with Denzel?! Why have you cuffed him?!" She really looked as if she was about to kill him and for once, it didn't amuse him.

"Your godchild sneaked into the living-quarters about an hour ago, armed with a knife. I don't believe he just missed the kitchen. So, what do you think we are doing?"

Tifa paled, her eyes raced from Rufus to Denzel whose eyes were clinging to her as if she was his only hope. "Is… is that true?"

"Feel free to watch the security tapes." If he hadn't been fighting nausea down, he perhaps wouldn't have answered as Tifa seemed to be reading the answer clearly in Denzel's downcast eyes. In the same moment, Tifa set out towards her kid. Rufus caught Tseng's eyes but shook his head. There was no need to keep her back. But over the short contact of eyes, he hadn't heard what Tifa had said to the boy, although the boy's whispered reply let him turn his head again:

"He… he destroyed the world! Mom and Dad died and now, he killed Cloud, too! And, he wants to turn Aeris' church into a spa! … I… I didn't want him to kill you, too!"

The strangled sob that was accompanying the boy's account irritated Rufus. He felt his temper rising and forced himself to calm down again. Surely, if he lost his temper now, it would only worsen the situation. Still, his reply was sharper than he had intended, "Now, I do _no__t_ deny that my company is responsible for what happened to the planet. However, I _do_ deny that my company or I are in any way related to Cloud's disappearance. Likewise, I have not the slightest intention to turn that sorry excuse of a church into a spa."

Tifa was glaring at him now. She was shielding the kid with her body. "That sounds pretty different from what you seemed to have said the last time."

"Why, I was just trying to give you a small hint on how to improve you balances! That bar of yours can't really yield much. But it seems that even the broadest hints are lost on you." Why was he even defending himself?! It angered Rufus even more that she thought she had to shield that – pathetically sobbing – child as if it had been them who had tried snuck around with a knife, ready to kill, not that heedless little brat!

"Who would want to take hints for business from you, Shinra? If you aren't just lying, that is."

Rufus catalysed his fury into an equally cruel smirk and replied, "I would watch my tongue, if I were you, Miss Lockheart. Neither I nor any of my Turks tried to have someone killed tonight."

Tifa literary jumped at this but turned fully towards him now. The fear in her eyes was evident as he held Denzel close to her, shielded him from them. "If you plan to do anything to Denzel…"

Rufus smirked although he didn't feel much like it. "Now, I don't believe you're in the position to threaten anyone around here, are you?"

Tifa slowly moved forward, staring at him, obviously ready to fight or kill if the situation should demand for it. "You have no right on earth to harm Denzel, Shinra, and I swear…"

"I believe I have _every_ right on earth," Rufus replied calmly and flicked his hair. He felt too exhausted and ill to tease Tifa any further. "Still, that doesn't mean I am _planning_ to do something to him." This answer rendered Tifa speechless for a moment which left Rufus time to continue, "I'm not much in favour of a lawsuit nor do I believe that executing a child is justifiable. … Too many people have died, anyway, and I don't need to add to them. And most certainly not with a naïve brat like yours." He sat down to look straight at Tifa now. His legs felt anyway as if they would give way under him any moment now. Tseng followed him like a shadow and his presents so close by felt reassuring as usual. "I suggest the following: You lock your room and store the key where none of your children can reach it. I will place sentries in front of you door and tomorrow morning, as soon as the streets are passable, you will leave."

"That's it?" Tifa looked at him, completely surprised.

Rufus shrugged, only tired now. His fury was dying away. "You _could_ refrain from teaching your children that I am the root to all that's evil."

Tifa studied him for several moments and Rufus knew she didn't trust him. At what seemed eternity, she gave a sigh. "I will try to trust you for once, Shinra."

Rufus gave a small smile and nodded to Reno to unlock the cuffs. "Escort them to their room."

Rude and Reno both gave a nod. Denzel didn't look anywhere but to the ground when he left the room and between Tifa's eyebrows, there was a frown.

The moment they had left the room, Rufus felt weariness and exhaustion flooding his mind. It was cold, suddenly.

"What a day," he muttered.

Tseng had been standing at his side but Rufus didn't notice he surrounded the corner until he felt the Turk's cold hand on his forehead.

"You're warm."

Rufus brushed the hand away, displeased to be touched, displeased to be so exhausted, displeased to be found out. "I'm going to bed now."

Tseng nodded. "Good idea."

Rufus got up, slowly. He didn't remember that standing up cost so much strength. Or moving, or thinking. Between the exhaustion, there was still anger burning. Anger, too, that she fascinated him.

Tseng walked with him in the direction of their quarters. "You've been lying," he suddenly announced and stopped in front of Rufus' quarters.

Rufus looked at him, tired. "Should I have told her that I only feel sorry to a certain degree and that my change in policy is business? It's better to give her half-truths." That wasn't what Tseng meant, he knew. But he didn't feel up to any other discussion.

"To us, I mean. About your geostigma."

"I lie to everybody, Tseng. Why would I make an exception for you?" He hated this topic. He knew just how much he had wronged Tseng and the other Turks and he felt not capable to discuss it at the moment. He never wanted to discuss it.

"I thought I was your friend, too."

"That only makes you more trusting." Hadn't Tseng caught his hint?! He didn't _want_ to justify himself.

Tseng just looked at him for a long moment before he turned to the door. "Good night." His voice was several degrees colder than usual and in the same moment, Rufus realized that he had gone too far at last. The Turk's back was disappearing in the doorway.

"Tseng!" Rufus felt his pride flaring. It wasn't like he ever apologized to anybody. That was certainly below his dignity. But now, the Turk turned, looked at him, coolly and he knew he couldn't have him walk away just like that. Though, he couldn't bring himself overcome his pride and speak, either.

The moment passed and the door closed behind the Turk.

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed! I do also hope I'll be able to post the next chapter__ soon, which will feature Elena again. This time, there'll be a real murder._

_I'd be glad to hear your opinion on this night; I've been working on and off this chapter the whole week and I'm not sure it turned out so very well…_


	9. Deals With Murder

_Thanks for your reviews again!

* * *

_

Chapter 9, Elena, Will Be Dealing With Murder.

When she got up the following morning, Elena felt a little better than the day before. At least good enough to leave her room. There were too many things she didn't wish to miss. Reno had surprised her very much with his short messages. Not only had Tifa Lockheart stayed over night, her boy had also tried to kill Rufus, as it seemed.

Elena straightened her tie. She hoped very much that neither Tseng nor Rufus had shot the boy. But Reno would have told if they had, wouldn't he?

Her stomach was still rumbling when she entered the common room where Reno and Rude were already standing. A radio was lying on the table which was babbling in nearly indistinguishable voices. It was dead silent in the room and while Rude was sitting in front of the radio, Reno was pressing his nose flat against the glass panels, staring outside.

"Morning. Where are…"

"Sssh!" Reno produced hectically, making equally hectic movements with his hands. "Come here and listen!"

Elena moved closer, puzzled. Only when she pressed her nose to the window, she was able to make out what was going on below. Rufus and Tseng seemed to be talking to Tifa who was standing in front of a car that bore the emblem of WRO. Slowly, only, she started to distinguish words from the radio. Tifa was just taking her leave and seemed to apologize again for the trouble they had caused.

"Gaia! He's really letting them go!" Reno muttered.

It was difficult to watch Tifa and her children enter the car, but a lot more easy to see the car leave. Snowdrifts were blocking most parts of the road, they were glistening in the sun as if the storm had never been.

"_Do you really want us to look for Cloud, Shachou?" _Even through the radio, Elena heard that Tseng sounded a little strained.

Rufus sneered, but didn't sound normal, either, when he answered:_ "I'm sure that vagrant lies dead in some ditch. If he doesn't, he doesn't want to be found. Either way, it wouldn't be advantageous for us to find him. – Switch that micro off. I doubt they'll come back."_

Elena didn't catch Tseng's reply and perhaps, he hadn't answered, for in the same moment, the sounds from the radio dissolved into pure static.

"Reeve had Tifa and her children picked up", Reno announced on Elena's questioning look. "He'll be very surprised when he finds out what the kid did, though." He grinned.

"Why didn't you tell me they were leaving so early?!"

"You didn't report back to work for the morning meeting," Rude answered calmly and still, Elena felt like she had been overrun by a lorry.

"You had a morning meeting, too?! Why didn't anybody tell me?"

"You were ill yesterday, sweetie", Reno answered with a big grin. "Didn't want you puke all over the files."

"What was the meeting about? I mean, what did Shachou decide?"

"Nothing, really." Reno sprawled out on the couch opposite to Rude.

"Everything had been decided tonight already," Rude explained.

"Yupp! It's not worth the bother. Can't kill a kid, can we, would be bad public relation and stuff. – Gosh, Tifa's going to worry for the rest of her life when the pay-day will come!" Reno gave a guttural laugh.

"But…" So much input at once was a little too much on an empty stomach for Elena. "Why did you meet this morning, then?"

"It was about the boy," Rude explained and puzzled Elena even further.

"Yeah," Reno added and turned to Elena now. He lowered his voice: "You know, that kid is really scary."

"Scary?" Elena asked back. Reno had managed to insecure her with just that sentence. What hadn't she noticed? "He didn't seem scary in that church…" It just slipped her and she was so happy that neither Rufus nor Tseng were around to notice. She must have missed something essential – it was so unprofessional!

"Yeah…," Reno started slowly and sat up again. "You know, it was really strange. Tseng sent us – me and Rude – to catch the boy and, no big deal, really, until we catch the boy. Rude appears in front of the boy, I catch him from behind and same moment, I get an electrical shock. But not like, shock-I touch, but I touch, second, shock. And quite a good one it was. – Ain't that right, Aibo? I cursed, didn't I?"

Rude gave a stoical nod.

"See! Anyway, I was like 'weird!', 'cause, usually, it's other way round, isn't it? But then, I think: well, late at night, gotta have made a mistake. So, then, we seat this boy in the room, cuffed and all, nice, steady light. But then, Senpai and Shachou come and suddenly, the light starts flickering. I'm not noticing much, cause, well, it's storming outside, no mako no-more, so, perhaps, energy not quite stable. But then, Shachou tells the boy something about execution and stuff – " Reno gave a laugh, "you should have seen him! Really scared the hell out of the kid! – anyway, midway through, you really see the terror in the boy's eyes, the light's flickering heavier and suddenly, that light bubble closest to the boy just goes 'ping' and dead! I find that strange, but then, Tifa enters and suddenly, there's no flickering in the light no more, everything steady. And then, when the boy left the room, the light got brighter, sort of, Tseng tells me. I mean, it's not just me being strange! Rude noticed, Tseng noticed, too." Reno rubbed through his hair and looked at her, worried. "Tell ya, that kid is _strange_!"

"But…" Elena narrowed her eyes. "You're kidding me!" And she nearly fell for it! God! Reno would laugh so hard again!

But Reno just frowned and threw one leg over the other. "Nope. This time, we ain't kiddin."

Elena looked at him and Rude, studied them, tried to find out if they really weren't kidding her. But Rude wasn't winking at her and slowly, she started to get a bad feeling. It took her several moments to reply in which the eyes of both Turks were constantly on her: "It needn't, I mean, it can't be related, can it? I mean, how would…? It's not possible!"

"Yeah, that's what I'm saying!" Reno nodded and held his hand towards her. "But this is a little too much for a normal electrical shock, ain't it?"

Elena leaned closer to look at the hand. Knowing Reno, he would flip it against her nose or something. She was sure, despite Reno's worried look, that he had taken her for a ride. But when she looked closer, there was something close to burn marks on Reno's fingertips. No heavy, but it looked as if it hurt.

"Uh…," she produced. "Are you sure you didn't touch something hot?"

"Like you, you mean?"

Elena pulled a grimace.

"I would have notice, wouldn't I and the only thing I remember is this…"

Elena thought for a moment. It was just impossible! But suddenly, another idea crossed her mind, "What… what if the boy carried Materia?"

"Materia?" Reno echoed and exchanged a look with Rude. "That idea ain't bad."

"He didn't wear an armlet", Rude replied.

"Yeah…" Reno started. "But that would explain why everything was strange and…"

In the same moment, the door to the common room opened and Elena didn't really catch the rest of Reno's sentence. Tseng entered. It was his form in the dark suit that slid into the room but in the same moment, the room seemed to be filled with calmness.

Tseng closed the door behind him, coolly, and Elena noticed that his smooth face was somewhat worried. Tseng didn't seem to have many expressions and most didn't even show as a change in expression. This one certainly wasn't a change in expression. Perhaps it was the way he had entered, the smooth way he moved in, or only his dark brown eyes, but he was bothered. Sad, maybe even and Elena felt a pang of sympathy.

"Yo, Senpai, where's Shachou?" Reno demanded.

"Rufus is ill," Tseng replied coolly and now, there was a crease on his forehead.

But in the same moment, Elena felt a shock running through her limps. _She_ had been ill the day before. Which could only mean that she must have passed the illness to Rufus! And suddenly, just like an accuse, all the eyes were on her. Tseng's eyes were scrutinizing her and for a moment, their eyes met, before she blushed and quickly looked away. But – they hadn't been accusing!

"Don't worry, Elena. You haven't infected him. He just lied to us." The left edge of Tseng's mouth darted upwards only for a short second.

"L – lied to us?", she echoed and slowly, it dawned to her. "On… on Geostigma, Tseng-san?"

Tseng gave a short nod and the sad expression in his eyes increased for the moment their eyes met again.

"But… I mean, he needn't… he could have just caught the flu…"

Reno sneered from the other side of the room. "He treats every illness as if every virus has insulted him personally!"

"That's not much of a difference from you, Reno!" she snapped back. Tseng obviously was worried about Rufus' Geostigma again, very worried, and she didn't want him to be. There was no need to, after all she had read. And it didn't need to be Geostigma, anyway.

"Yeah, but I also wine if it's serious!"

"Thank Gaia you didn't get Geostigma, Reno," Rude contributed objectively.

Elena was too intimidated by Tseng's presence to answer back, but in the same moment it hit her like a train what Reno had hinted at: The point wasn't whether Rufus had a normal flu or another seizure of Geostigma. The point was that he was trying to cover up his illness. Which meant he was suspecting that it was Geostigma. Which meant he had been lying to them and his illness had proceeded farer than he told them.

"Oh…," was everything she could produce.

Tseng was still standing, that worried look still in his eyes and it hurt her to see him so worried again. But now, he turned to Reno and Rude, ordered them to go back to Junon for the next few days and gather information on how the training for new Turks proceeded. Verdot was leading it. Still, Tseng's expression was strange. Not exactly, or only, worried. She didn't like it to see him like this. If only she could ask him… but she wouldn't dare, she knew. And why did Rufus lie about his illness? There was not point in lying… no benefits for him as she saw it…

"I want you to take care of this case, Elena." Tseng's words startled her up.

"Yes, Sir, I'm sorry, Sir…" She went pale, realized that she had missed half of his introduction but didn't dare to ask again. Tseng was pointing the file at her and she took it, eyes cased downwards. It was so typical her! To day-dream while Tseng said something important! That was why she would always stay a rooky! That was why she would endanger them on missions – perhaps that was also why she they had been caught by K… - no! Don't think about that!

Reno and Rude were leaving the room.

"I want to make sure where the kid disappeared to," Tseng continued. "Start with his parents, friends, siblings."

"Yes, Tseng-san!" He would never have told another Turk, she realized. It was only her, the rooky, who needed to be told how to conduct a search! A quick look into the file showed her the picture of a boy, around 15 – missing person? She felt even lower. That was routine! Why… Tseng had to think she was such an amateur to give her such a case! But she would give her best! Surely, the family was very worried about the boy. He looked nice.

"Do you have any questions?" Tseng asked. – Had she frowned?!

"N…no, Sir! I… I will do my best!"

Tseng gave a nod, a sad nod, she noticed, as their eyes met again. "I'm sure of it." He turned.

Worried. The boy's parents were worried.

Tseng wasn't worried, Elena suddenly realized. He was _hurt_. She hated to seem him hurt and she hated that he was hurt because of her president. But then, suddenly, two and two became four.

"Tseng-san!" He was almost through the door but turned in the moment she had called.

"Tseng-san, I'm sorry…," she stammered and didn't know how to go on.

"What is it, Elena?" Did he sound kind or was she just imagining it?

"Sir… I think he didn't want to see us hurt." It took all her courage to say that.

Tseng blinked, didn't move for a moment, but then, slowly, the ghost of a smile was edging around his lips. "You are smart, Elena."

The door shut behind him and left Elena completely exulting with the praise until she realized that that gloomy lock had still been on Tseng's face. As if he had continued the sentence: _But that is not the point_. Still, she couldn't figure out, what this point might have been. Perhaps it hadn't been Rufus after all? But after all she knew there was no one but Rufus close to Tseng. Verdot, perhaps. But Verdot was fine, too. So, what was it? Some other problems? But nothing of real trouble had occurred, nothing to hurt Tseng…

In the same moment, she realized that she had been daydreaming again and jumped. That way, she would never get things done! --- But she had to get things done! Otherwise,…

As quickly as possible, she left the room and hasted to the office. There, she read the file quickly only to discover that there was barely anyone who they could ask but the parents and a younger sister.

They didn't have much people these days, some freshly trained Turks and instead of their own people, a lot of paid personal in higher functions. Or cooperation, like the hospital or some paid parts of the police (or what went under the term of cooperation there). Most people didn't even know that they were working for the remains of Shin-Ra Electric Power Inc..

Tseng was no way around and technically, she didn't have to ask him for permission if she wanted to take another Turk and investigate. Still, she would have felt a lot more comfortable if she could have when she left the building into the direction of Edge's centre, accompanied by a new Turk named Ba'al.

The parents weren't hard to find. They were living were the address said they were and they were not very anxious about their son. It seemed as if they were thankful that the teenager had been send away from them. The only thing they were worried about was whether the kid would be send back to hospital or to them. When Elena told them it would be hospital, they volunteered some more, half-hearted information but half way through, Elena was interrupted by her mobile. She let Ba'al deal with the rest of the questions and answered the phone.

The other end of the phone told her that there had been a homicide on a fifteen-year-old kid, but 'homicide' was certainly not enough to brace her for the scene of crime.

The body was indeed that of a fifteen-year-old but it didn't give away much more. He hadn't been killed here, though. There wasn't enough blood, the inspector insured her.

In Elena's opinion, there was much too much blood. There were much too many wounds, too.

Inspector Lincoln, who received a second income from Shin-Ra and worked well for it, was looking into some notes that had been handed to him. "Hm… the body must have been put here about two hours ago. I'm sure they didn't want him found." The inspector looked up from the notes and directed his eyes to Elena who willed herself to look at him. She didn't even want to look into the direction of the body. "Some children happened to play around here; they found the body."

Elena felt herself not really listening. The body hadn't been put here, she thought. It had been 'disposed of'. She felt sickened by the sight, but seeing how Ba'al eyed the body, she forced herself to look, while Inspector Lincoln continued that they didn't know how the boy had been killed, exactly.

"Not been kept alive anymore," Elena heard herself answer and felt her voice dying into a whisper. She knew what a tortured body looked like.

"Pardon?" The inspector turned to her again.

"I said: He died of not being kept alive anymore." This time, her voice didn't quiver although she had to use all her strength to produce those words.

The inspector frowned, seemed to gather the meaning. He was a smart man. "Are you sure?"

Elena forced herself to smile thinly, her heart was racing with fear when she tried not to recall those memories. "Yes, I'm sure."

"Hm." The Inspector led them from the tent while the forensic team entered. The last thing Elena noticed was that the wounds accumulated around the white spots. They had identified the body by the tattoo on the shoulder. Inspector Lincoln had called them directly after the body had been identified. He was working well for his money. "I don't like that, you know?"

Elena held her eyes fixed on him, tried not to show anything of the commotion inside her.

"We had a similar case a month ago, nearly. Body was also that mutilated, white specks and wounds all over. I don't like that."

Elena didn't like it, either, and despite her discomfort, she knew what the man was hinting at. "Keep us informed on your investigations, Inspector."

The Inspector smiled. "I'm sorry we couldn't find that boy alive for you."

Elena nodded but couldn't bring herself to smile, too. She felt too much like throwing up. "We appreciate you call, Inspector."

She shook his hand and off they went again. Ba'al was chatting madly about a match she had watched the week before and Elena was just happy she only had to listen. Still, she decided to let Ba'al bring the car back and walk the way into the headquarter. She needed a bit of fresh air.

The man-high snowdrifts were glittering aesthetically in the bright sunlight, the air was fierce but sweet, yet, all she could think about was that tortured body which reminded her so strongly of other bodies she had seen – hers, Tseng's. But somehow, this body was different. The wounds weren't shattered after where it hurt most to inflict them. They had been clustered around and in the white spots, and it bothered her more than the rest.

Why, she wasn't sure and even the bright, glittering façade of Shin-Ra's (pretty modest) new building couldn't brake her gloom. But it seemed strange to her that the other body the inspector had mentioned should have borne the white marks as well… if indeed the murder was related; there weren't enough people with white marks around for it to be much of a coincident.

A tall, dark-dressed figure tore her from her thoughts and gave her a jolt. Tseng was standing in front of the Shin-Ra building, talking to the driver of a car that was just about to leave and she felt her heart accelerating. Tseng… if she uttered her trail of thoughts to him, he would call her rash. But he would be worried nonetheless. About Rufus, for sure. She tried to push the thought away that something the like could happen to Rufus, how horrifyingly marred he had been after the Weapon's attack and suddenly saw the boy's body again. She felt a surge of sickness seizing her stomach as the memory of the boy's body exchanged for a memory of what they had done to Tseng.

She didn't even dare to meet his eyes, feared he would read in her eyes how much the dead body had upset her. It would be far better if she just handed in her report! She tried to not too obviously look at him as she went by.

But just as she passed the car drove off.

"Elena?" Tseng's dry voice startled her. Even more that he had spoken to her, and she stopped, silent, her heart thundering before she turned and smiled nervously.

"Yes, Sir?"

Tseng looked at her, friendly. Was he looking at her friendly, indeed? Elena felt herself blushing. She couldn't be blushing! He would notice!

"Were your investigations successful?" There was still that bothered look in his eyes.

Elena gave half of a nod. "Sort of, at least, Tseng-san."

"Sort of?" Tseng's expression was unmoved but still Elena realized that she hadn't expressed herself precisely and blushed.

"I'm sorry, Senpai. The boy… was murdered."

It seemed, only for a moment, that another cloud was passing Tseng's face. "Who would murder a child? – What kind of murder was it? Can it be related to us in any way?"

Elena felt uneasy. She didn't want to recall the pictures. If Tseng felt only half the way she did about their abduction, she didn't want to answer. But Tseng was Tseng. He had borne up so well, surely, he wouldn't be bothered. But her own voice was only reduced to a whisper when she answered: "I think he was tortured."

She was ashamed that her voice nearly failed her and thus not sure if Tseng hesitated indeed in his movement.

"Well," he said after what seemed more than just a moment. "At least that doesn't necessarily lead to us." He overtook her in the next step to open the door and Elena followed the movement of his hand towards the door, her heart hammering as she realized that he was going to open the door for her. But the hand never reached the handle. Elena just saw him slipping, couldn't react quickly enough to catch him. Tseng fought for his balance and perhaps thanks to his training, he caught half of it, but it didn't help very much that he seemed to slip again.

"Tseng-san!" The words, too much horror mixed into it, slipped Elena's lips as she spun around her own axis and nearly slipped herself. Tseng had already half gotten up again when she had fully turned. But the twisted position in which he had fallen against the glass didn't look good.

"Are you hurt? – Let me help you!" She reached out for him and tried to help him up, too surprise in the first moment to feel anything but worry. Then, she suddenly noticed that she was indeed touching him and her heart missed another beat before it accelerated immensely.

But in the same moment, even before she had gotten hold of herself again, he was up on his legs again and had disengaged.

"Are… are you alright, Tseng-san?" His hand had been dry and warm and she could only just refrain from taking a look at her hand where his touch still lingered. He had been so close that she had felt his breath! She had to be as red as a tomato!

"Thank you, I think so. I will call the janitor, though. This is dangerous."

Elena nodded in agreement, perhaps too much. His touch had been so warm! He smelt so good!

But when Tseng pushed the door to open it, Elena didn't miss the short wave of pain that was crossing his face and that he used his shoulder to open the door fully.

It took her moments to utter the question and she nearly didn't utter it at all: "Senpai, is your hand alright?"

Tseng seemed to be uneasy with the question and Elena damned herself for having asked it. She had no business to ask such an obvious thing!

"I think I just twisted it."

"Um…" Although everything inside her ached to ask him whether she could see it _that_ would surely been the wrong question. If she asked that question, he would know everything! "Hm… why don't you go and see a doctor? I… um I can tell the janitor…?"

Tseng smiled and Elena felt her heart thundering. He was indeed smiling at her! "That is very kind of you, Elena, thank you." He nodded shortly, before he disappeared across the hall, leaving Elena with a hammering heart. She was still staring after him after he had long since disappeared into the elevators.

The rest of the day, she damned herself for not offering to dress the hand – she knew how! Then, she could have asked him about Rufus and, perhaps, given him some advice. As if Tseng needed advices from anyone! Or just sympathy.

She should have taken advantage of that situation!

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_Thanks for reading once again and I hope you enjoyed. The next chapter will feature Reeve lying._

_Please review!_


	10. Reeve lies

_I already wanted to put this chapter up last week, but then, when I was just sitting at the computer, opening the document, my computer told me that it wasn't even sorry, but this document couldn't be opened anymore. To put it short, I was pretty vexed. Still, I hope you will enjoy!

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Chapter 10: Reeve: Wherein Reeve lies

Reeve was staring at the clock on his desk. He once had had a dream. The dream of a new world where the planet wouldn't be abused, where the people lived in peace. It had been the dream of a world where there were no wars. He had dreamt about how he would rebuild the world and given a life worth living to the people in it. Everyone would have been equal, everyone would have been well. There wouldn't have been any regime like Shin-Ra to rule and frighten them. There wouldn't have been two classes of people, no more misery. Education for the children, health-care for the ill, work, bread, energy for everyone.

Where was this dream, now? He still dreamt it, sometimes, at night. But it seemed farer away than on that day he had realized that the president's death hadn't changed anything and that he couldn't count on his son to make the world a better place. Even though now, he could perhaps count on the son.

He had build up WRO, with WRO, he had build Edge, build schools, replanted woods, started hospitals, industries, but his dream wasn't any closer. He had been forced to join hands with Shin-Ra again and he had to admit that Shin-Ra was now using technologies that were far more advantageous to the planet than oil. Geostigma had returned and he had no idea where it came from or what to do about it. He couldn't even protect his best friends.

Cloud had disappeared and Tifa was so unhappy.

She had seemed so tired and so relieved when she had arrived in the morning. But she hadn't stayed longer than after Denzel's examinations. She had a bar to run, she had said and looked so ultimately sad that he had just wanted to take her in his arms and comfort her. But, of course, that was impossible as much as he wished for it. And Denzel had tried to kill Rufus Shinra.

Reeve didn't even know what to make out of that. He only felt sorrier for Tifa and for a moment had even hated the boy. Couldn't he have thought about how much strain this was putting on Tifa now? When the last thing she needed was strain? Denzel, in his naivety, had thought he was protecting Tifa and taking revenge for Cloud, but… good Gaia!

The digits turned to 13:55 am and Reeve got up. Rufus was due to arrive at 14:00. He had to meet him on arrival.

But instead of Rufus, a lonely dark-suited form was already waiting in his anteroom. A dark presenceless presence.

Tseng's hair was ebony as usual, the expression stern but unmoved. Reeve noticed that the Turk's left hand was bandaged and felt a surge of bad consciousness. Could that be Denzel's fault?

"Tseng!" Reeve was surprised as he seized the Turk's cold hand. While Rufus' hand felt cold to touch, Tseng's was just cold because the Turk was cold in his entire appearance. "Where's Rufus?"

The Turk didn't move a muscle in his face. "I'm afraid there has been an emergency in Junon. Shachou had to take the helicopter directly after breakfast."

Reeve nodded. "Come in!" He studied the Turk. Rufus seldom went somewhere without his Head-Turk, but Reeve had long suspected that Tseng's position in the company was more than that of just the head of the Turks. That Rufus had sent him now to conduct business was certainly a proof for that. Reeve didn't mind, though. He liked Tseng.

"I'm thankful that you kept Tifa and her children over night, despite…"

"Rufus bears them no ill will. Even if he did, it would have been inhuman to have them go home in that weather."

Reeve nodded and wished that he instead of Shin-Ra had hosted them over night. He felt embarrassed about Denzel's behaviour, also because he liked the boy a lot. Perhaps, they had talked too bad about Shin-Ra in front of him and that embarrassed him, too. It wasn't justified anymore.

"I'm very sorry for the trouble," Reeve continued as he offered Tseng a seat.

"Don't worry," Tseng replied, face still unmoved. "We neither have enough material nor would it be wise to conduct a lawsuit."

Reeve gave a relieved sigh. Since Meteor, Shin-Ra wasn't the law anymore, still, he wouldn't have like Tifa to be in Shin-Ra's debt. And even if he didn't think much below Shin-Ra, he couldn't imagine them to execute a boy. He nodded, slowly, but just before he could bring the topic to the planed rebuilding of Midgar, Tseng continued with something else: "The boy that has gone missing from your facility has been found this morning."

Reeve felt himself pale. Fear was tightening his stomach. This was not good. "Oh? Where was he? I hope you are sending him to us again?"

If Tseng was looking right through his act, he didn't show but replied calmly: "We didn't find him, the police did. He was murdered."

All the hope Reeve had had dropped stories deep. He knew what was coming now and prayed Tseng wouldn't give any details. He would get details soon enough and they would be ugly, he knew.

Tseng was studying him and Reeve had the feeling that he was looking right through him. "Elena uttered the suspicion that he was tortured before he was murdered. Shin-Ra, despite everything, doesn't torture children."

Relief was flooding Reeve's veins. It had been stupid of him to suspect Shin-Ra and to utter it aloud, yet, Shin-Ra's sudden and curious interest in the new Geostigma had alerted him. But they had only asked for information and been satisfied with those they had been given. Surely, if they were the ones who had kidnapped the boy, they wouldn't have been satisfied. For now, Reeve was just more than relieved that Tseng hadn't drawn any connection between Geostigma and the abductions.

"It was foolish of us to utter this suspicion…"

"Yet, when Shin-Ra's around and people disappears, it comes readily," Tseng stated. "I'm sorry that this is still the case and Rufus is equally regretful. But I can assure you that Shin-Ra isn't responsible for this."

Reeve nodded, a bit enthusiastically, maybe. He was eager to change topics. But Tseng continued:

"I saw the pictures, too, but my conclusion goes a little further: this child wasn't tortured for a maximum of pain, the torture is a by-product of perhaps experiments. Torture would have focussed on other areas of the body, but the wounds focus on the Geostigma-blotches the boy had."

Reeve looked at him, tried to hide his emotions. The sickness from thinking about what had happened to the boy, the fear that Tseng might draw further conclusions and admiration at the Turk's deduction. "And… uhm." He cleared his throat. "What do you make out of it?"

Tseng looked him into the eye, coldly. "There could be someone else here in Midgar who is interested in Geostigma, with fewer scruples than you. It might be best to be careful with the patients. If you need help to protect them, I'm sure Shin-Ra can oblige."

Reeve nodded, slowly, but couldn't read in the Turk's eyes if the Turk drew any further conclusions. "That is very kind of you." He asked himself if he should tell Tseng that his suspicions weren't that wrong after all they knew. But then, the Turk would draw further conclusions that he didn't want Shin-Ra to know. Not even about the other victims they had found so recently.

Tseng seemed to study him a moment longer and then opened his file, but then suddenly hesitated.

Reeve caught map that was now lying in front of the Turk, and saw that Aeris' church was marked on it. He frowned, too: "Rufus isn't really planning to turn it into a spa, is he?" he asked, eager to change the topic.

Tseng shock his head. "No, of course not. But I was wondering about something else."

"Oh?" Reeve was worried. The problem about Shin-Ra was that they were smart.

"The boy, Denzel, I think he carried materia with him. Did you know?"

"Materia?" Reeve felt relieved. Thank goodness! "Perhaps he got some from Cloud?"

Tseng eyed him suspiciously. "The boy didn't wear a bracelet."

"Maybe he is keeping it as a souvenir. How did you notice?"

"It showed some effects."

Reeve nodded. "Yes. Tifa said the boy was pretty talented with materia."

Tseng studied him, coldly and in the same moment Reeve felt himself freeze inside. Tseng was looking directly through his act.

"If there is even a slight possibility that materia helps Geostigma-patients, please tell us," the Turk said.

So that was what Tseng was aiming at! Reeve was relieved. Here he had been sweating that Tseng might uncover everything but he was only worried about treatments! As he couldn't have been much more wrong, Reeve nodded. "Of course." And suddenly, another thought crossed his mind. _Rufus_ had been infected with Geostigma, too. "Why are you so interested in Geostigma?... Has Rufus shown any… any signs of it?"

Tseng seemed surprised. "No, not so far. I don't think he will, anyway. The illness hadn't proceeded very far with him. We have some patients in Junon and we would like to treat them."

Reeve gave a slight, uneasy laugh. "Yes… yes, of course…. Why don't you send them to us?"

Tseng seemed to think a moment. "I will have to ask Rufus about this," he replied evadingly and turned the first page of his file.

Reeve wasn't sure if he had bought it. He hoped very much that there weren't many patients in Junon. And that those weren't showing all of the symptoms. If there were some who did… it was better if they got them before Shin-Ra found out.

The rest of their conversation went smoothly although Reeve wasn't sure if Shin-Ra wasn't hiding something from him. After Tseng had left, he reached for his mobile to call Tifa.

His heart was hammering. He knew he shouldn't, but he just felt he had to tell her.

Tifa answered with a sleepy voice.

"Hello, it's Reeve," Reeve replied. "I think I have good news for you."

"Oh?" said Tifa and for a moment, she sounded really cheerful.

"Shin-Ra doesn't plan any further actions against you. I think they just wanted to give you a scare. _And_, they don't suspect anything concerning Denzel. They think he was carrying materia."

"Oh. Okay. That's good, I suppose." She sounded tired again, let down in her hope and Reeve was slowly getting a bad consciousness that he had called her after all.

"And… Tseng tells me they really don't want to pull the church down. I don't think you have to fear them…"

"No," Tifa replied. "That's surely good news." She didn't sound much like it. "Uhm… they didn't seem too bad, yesterday evening."

"And… keep an eye on Denzel. Patrick has been killed."

The other end of the telephone went quiet for several moments and this time, Reeve felt really sorry he had told her. But – he couldn't bear it to know Denzel in danger.

"You don't think it's them, do you?"

"Don't be silly. They don't know enough. And… I don't believe the present Shin-Ra would do anything to children."

"Yes…" She seemed to think of something and Reeve could almost see her smile when she continued. "They were nice to Denzel and Marlene. I think Marlene fell for Rude."

Reeve had to smile, too. "It can't have been too bad, then."

"No… it wasn't, really. Only – Shinra's so… I don't know… He seems so sincere, but I can't forget... – it was a mistake to go there."

"You were worried, what else should you have done?"

"I don't know!" Suddenly, she sounded desperate again. "It didn't help! It only made things worse! I've been such a fool to go there!"

"Tifa… Don't blame yourself. I'm sure Cloud will come back in good time."

"Yeah…" She didn't sound as if she believed him. She sounded so very sad again.

"What about us having lunch again tomorrow?"

"Reeve… I really can't accept again! You are too kind."

"Come on. You have to go all the way to here. At least, have a decent lunch. I'm sure the children will like it. It's good for them after last night and it's good for you, too."

He heard her hesitate and hoped she hesitated because she wanted to come and was just debating with her consciousness.

"Okay. Fine. That's really kind of you, Reeve."

"Don't worry about it."

"Thanks."

The line went dead on him, but Tifa had sounded at least a little relieved and Reeve felt a lot better. He would have gone to the end of the world for her.

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_Hope you enjoyed__. The next one will deal with the church again where two characters will meet. _

_Please review!_


	11. Wherein Rufus meets Denzel

_This chapter takes place about one and a half weeks after the last._

_Yes, and it's still winter... weather over here is so bad that I really wish the winter back. But weather might change in the next few chapters._

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Chapter 11: Wherein Rufus meets Denzel

The snow was crunching under Rufus' feet. He felt light-headed, the medicine was digging in, but although it might have lowered the fever, it didn't restore his strength. The air was cold, burning fiercely in his lungs.

He needed to think, calmly. It was impossible think at home, not in a buzzing building. Not with Tseng around.

He stopped in front of the gate, had to stop to catch his breath. The metal was cold through his gloves and he felt the cold sipping through his clothes. Even thinking of the Turk tightened his stomach. He had no idea how to tell Tseng that he was sorry for what he had said. He didn't even know how to treat the Turk since he hadn't excused. The Turk's coldness hurt so much. He hadn't even dared to ask him about his bandaged arm.

He pushed the door open, felt the heat flaring up inside.

The place was lying there so very beautifully. Light was falling through the broken roof, there was snow on the floor, snowdrifts covered some of the overturned benches. Steam was wavering softly over the spring. The windows where covered in a milky layer of ice.

He was dying.

The wood was creaking under his heavy steps when he advanced.

Elena had said the illness wouldn't kill, but he didn't believe her.

Lifestream had been merciful with him once and now, it was coming back for him. He felt its fire burning him away from the inside, the pain that was tearing at his patched up limbs.

He just couldn't bring up Reeve's enthusiasm for 'the world'. He plainly didn't care, as much as he tried. One human, perhaps, could be smart. Two or three were perhaps smarter. But a bunch of them was just plainly _stupid_. It wasn't like he _cared_ to help them; it was just beneficial for him at the moment. He felt sorry for what _he_ had lost, shocked and shaken by the dimensions of Shin-Ra's destruction, but sorry for the world _itself_? Guilty only in some ways, perhaps.

He felt the fever burning inside him and his hand tightened around the shotgun as the pain flared up again.

He didn't want to die.

The water in front of his feet was crystal-clear. He felt the warmth rising up to him and he saw his shadow on the surface. He wasn't here for redemption. It wasn't like he hadn't _tried_ to change, but he was indulged and selfish, always had been. He was Rufus Shinra and same as he couldn't change his origin, he saw no point in changing into something he considered weak. If the lifestream thought it had to kill him for that, it was welcome to. He wasn't going to beg, not him. Never mind how frightened he was.

It was just Tseng and his Turks whom he… Suddenly, there was a faint noise which pierced his thoughts and his hand tightened around the gun.

It stayed silent for several moments and all Rufus felt was the cold creeping up behind him, the warmth rising from the pool. He listened intensely into the silence, heard nothing but the soft wind in the building's structure. Then, suddenly, there was another creak and in the same moment, Rufus spun around his axis and pointed his gun, just to see the scared face of a child at the other end of the barrel.

"Oh, it's _you_ again." He lowered the weapon with a contemptuous smirk and looked around for Tifa Lockheart. But the church seemed to be empty save for them. It disappointed him. Ever since that night nearly one and a half week ago he had half hoped to meet her again. She had contradicted him, she had scorned him, accused him, she was fascinating him.

"I'm… I'm sorry, Mr Shinra, Sir", the boy stammered. Judging by his position in the room, he must have been on his way out. Now, he was looking down to his feet, scared, but he also didn't seem to know what to do. The frequent gaze to the hole in the wall suggested hat he wanted to run and Rufus wished he would. He was in no mood to deal with that pathetic brat, whatever Lockheart was seeing in him. He wanted to contemplate on his own. Instead, the boy seemed to gather himself and then stepped from the row of benches he had been lurking in and came closer. His eyes were fixed upon Rufus and Rufus wasn't sure what to make out of the situation. He narrowed his eyes while his hand was tightening around the handle of the gun.

The boy came to a stop, looked at him shortly and seemed to draw a deep breath before he looked to the ground. "I… I wanted to excuse myself," he started stammering and seemed to wait for a reaction. But Rufus was far too stunned to do anything but stop himself from giving his surprise away. 'Excuse'? That was the last thing he had expected! Nobody ever excused to him, at least no one who wasn't working for him in some way.

"I… what I did was bad and… I was wrong and… I… I just want to say that… that I'm sorry, Mr Shinra...?" Denzel was still looking at his feet.

Rufus knew he had to reply, but didn't know what. When he had made excuses at that age, he had never been honest, he was sure; he would have only tried to manipulate someone into something. But that kid in front of him showed no such signs. He seemed entirely sincere.

"Now, I thought that business was settled…," he mused at last and realized that it had been rather to himself and that his entire surprise must have shown. Suddenly, that kid was a lot more interesting and a lot less pathetic. How did he do it, excuse just like that? It surely needed a lot of courage not to turn and walk away when he had the chance but face him. Perhaps, Tseng was right and the boy would make a decent Turk?

Rufus realized he couldn't continue staring at the boy forever and cleared his throat. "Now, what precisely are you doing here, young man? I thought you are usually at Reeve's around this time of the day, for examinations."

The boy blushed, caught, but didn't answer. He seemed intimidated.

Rufus smirked, a bit more self-assured again. "Oh, I understand. You skipped them."

The boy blushed again, avoided his eyes. "I didn't skip,… not really, anyway!"

"No?" Rufus was rather bemused.

The boy shook his head. "It's just… I don't like it! It's boring! They are doing all those stupid tests and … I have to listen and train and answer all their questions and… I … I really love Aeris' church, Sir, so… so I thought… I mean, the weather is so nice today and… you won't tell Tifa, will you, Mr Shinra?" He suddenly looked at Rufus, begging.

Rufus gave a short laugh. "Why would I? I honestly don't care about your education." Or lack of it.

"Th… thank you, Sir," the boy muttered.

Rufus was about to turn back to the glittering spring when the boy started again, shyly, "Uhm…, and what are _you_ doing here, Mr Shinra?"

"Don't worry, I'm not intending to turn this place into a spa. It's certainly not worth it."

Denzel seemed to be surprised but also a little relieved. "Okay…?" He looked around him, didn't seem to feel well with the situation.

"Is your materia-treatment answering well?" Rufus asked, having half turned to dismiss the boy. He was looking at him over his shoulder now, half way facing the spring again. Perhaps the boy could serve as a source of information as how to treat the new Geostigma?

"Materia?" the boy echoed and seemed puzzled for a moment. "Oh,… yes. … I don't know. The doctors won't tell…" He looked worried and Rufus felt a little more uneasy, too. Not only was the cold slowly creeping through his bones, but the fever was leaving a dull pain behind that even the medicine couldn't kill. And they hadn't found a way to treat the illness.

"If Shin-Ra can help with anything – if you need medical mako or know-how, I would gladly oblige." He had turned around again as if to underline that he was sincere in his offer. The boy was certainly not a sales partner. But it was perhaps a good idea have the boy trusting them.

"Oh…" Denzel seemed surprised and was studying him now with more interest, it seemed.

Rufus sneered. "What is it? Did you not expect me to offer help? Or to abduct you and conduct my own examinations on you?"

The boy looked away, caught.

"My, they must have told you I'm a monster! I'm surprised myself I haven't killed you yet."

Denzel looked up as if suddenly scared and took a step backwards.

"That was a _joke_," Rufus added sourly and turned back again. Didn't that boy catch even the most obvious irony? … On the other hand, Rufus had read somewhere that children only started to understand irony – and to use it – around the age of twelve. Which then again raised the question how he himself had survived the first twelve years of his life.

Denzel, at least, smiled shyly before he said, even more timidly, "T… _Tifa_ doesn't say you are bad."

"Doesn't she?" Now, _that_ was news and Rufus felt a strange and unexpected thrill running through his body at her name.

Denzel nodded enthusiastically. "Yes! Tifa told me that not _all_ of the bad things they say you have done are true and that you aren't _always_ lying and that you haven't done _only_ bad things. She says you can't _only_ be bad…" He paused a moment and seemed to think. "And, Tifa also says, you really owned the world before Meteor and you are a materia-list and so, it's really bad for you that you lost everything and she said one should feel really sorry for you that you hadn't died…"

Rufus, following the words, had slowly turned around, his eyes narrow now. Rarely before in his life had someone flung so many insults at him in one breath. But the kid seemed to be completely unaware of what he had just said. His face displayed the expression of pure honesty and approve, but he paused when he saw the expression on Rufus' face. Either, that boy was exceedingly stupid, cunning or just naïve. Rufus only wished it was Tifa who said that to his face. That would have been far more interesting.

He opened his mouth to reply certainly more sharply than appropriate, to tell the boy to bloody watch what he was saying, but even before he could start or stop himself, the doors to the church flew open and both of them drove around, Rufus pointing his gun at the intruder in the same moment.

The light drew a tall shadow into the doorway, the suit shimmering blackly. "What do you think you're doing, Shachou?"

Rufus lowered his weapon and slowly slipped it back into his jacket. His inside was crawling and suddenly, he just felt cold. "I don't believe that's any of your business, Turk," he replied coolly. There was no way he would let that kid know there was any closer relationship between him and his Turks than business.

"How do you expect us to take care of your safety if you don't keep us with you, Shachou?" Tseng was suddenly as cold as the ice. "You are in…!"

"I'm armed, Tseng," he interrupted coolly. He had passed Denzel in the same moment and was facing Tseng now.

"Yes, of _course_. And do you also know that there has been another victim? There is a murderer at large and I believe a lot of other people who would like to kill you."

"Oh? Another Geostigma-patient?" Rufus ignored the second sentence. Away from the warming spring the cold was quickly getting to him.

Tseng gave him a cold stare. He was furious, as it seemed but replied smoothly: "Yes, another one."

Rufus smirked. "Well, under these circumstances we should escort Denzel home, shouldn't we?"

Tseng frowned, Rufus saw his eyes travelling to the boy. Denzel's expression had changed into unease and Tseng's eyes lingering on him weren't improving anything, either.

"Yes, Sir," the Turk replied, but Rufus was relieved to see that he approved at least of this decision. It wasn't like he needed Tseng's approval, but at the moment, their relationship was bad enough without further disagreements.

"Would you call Reeve, then, that he has the boy picked up?" Rufus turned to Denzel. "I'm sure you prefer Reeve over Tifa, don't you?"

Denzel seemed uncertain, he was obviously feeling unwell about the situation, but slowly shook his head. "Tifa told me not to go with strangers. A-… And she said you are dangerous."

The boy's reply had left both Turk and master speechless for a moment but when their eyes met, they agreed quickly.

Rufus shrugged and set into motion. "Suit yourself."

This time, he overtook Tseng who stayed behind, looking at the boy with his serious expression. "I'd rather not leave you behind. Rufus is right, one shouldn't walk alone with that murderer at large." Rufus felt Tseng's eyes digging like daggers into his back.

"Uhm", Denzel made, uncertain.

"Hand him Reeve when you're finished, Tseng, so he knows Reeve knows." Rufus turned around, folding his arms in front of his chest and gave both the boy and Tseng an arrogant look. He was feeling quite cold now, even with his coat closed up, and hoped they would set back into motion soon. The medicine made him feel funny, somewhere between ill and exhausted.

But they stayed until Tseng had finished explaining the situation to Reeve. Denzel only came closer after Tseng had concluded that he would hand Reeve on to Denzel so Denzel could be sure he would be picked up. For a moment, only Denzel's small voice filled the church and then, when the boy handed the telephone back to Tseng, Rufus set back into motion.

"Tell me, Denzel, does Reeve know you sometimes skip you examinations?"

"I don't know…," Denzel replied uneasily.

"But there has to be someone who covers up for your absences."

"I… I'm not doing it _very_ often… and – I always get back on time!"

Rufus was about to reply but stopped dead in his track when he saw the smallish Snow Truck that was waiting for them outside, accompanied by two other Turks.

"Where is the helicopter, Tseng?" he turned to his Turk, displeased. A journey in this vehicle would take longer. Moreover, they weren't known for being warm inside and by now, he was feeling quite cold. His coat hadn't reacted well to the warm vapour from the spring.

"I came here directly from the scene of crime, after I heard you went without Turks," Tseng replied icily.

"Whatever." Rufus' frown had increased at the critique. For Tseng, it had been uttered harshly.

Denzel was tagging along and seemed to be fascinated with the Snow Truck, at least, he beamed when a Turk helped him into the small passenger's cabin.

Rufus' fingers were cold, and exhausted from the fever, it wasn't quite that easy for him to climb into the cabin and the cold was clearly getting to him now. The cabin war rather small, but it would still be cold inside, he knew.

One of the Turks climbed into the driver's cabin, the other took a scooter on which she seemed to have arrived, too.

As soon as Denzel had settled himself on the bench opposite to Rufus and Tseng, Rufus turned back to Denzel,

"So, what do you want me to tell Reeve, Denzel?"

Denzel dragged his eyes from the passing ruins. "P… pardon me, Sir?"

Rufus smirked. "I am assuming that you wouldn't want either Tifa or Reeve to know where you've been. It's quite a way off from Reeve's place, isn't it?"

Denzel didn't seem to feel too well about this question and needed several moments to answer, "No… I mean, you're right, Mr Shinra."

"Don't always call me 'Mr Shinra'. It's 'Rufus' or 'Shachou' or whatever. 'Mr Shinra' was my father and I don't believe anyone wants to be reminded of _him_."

Denzel blinked at him, confused for a moment, and then nodded. "I'm… I'm sorry, Mr Rufus."

Rufus didn't miss how Tseng hid his bemusement and for a moment was tempted to correct the boy again, but then left it at that.

"Where have you been, then, and where did we find you?" The wind that was only gradually sipping into the cabin was fierce and Rufus felt the fever slowly returning again. But besides being highly entertaining to get the kid to lie, Denzel would start to make himself depended on him if he now chose to lie. And by now, Rufus was quite determined to change Tifa's opinion about them. Be it for fun or for business.

"I don't know…" The boy looked rather helpless.

"Now, you do have to be a little creative." Rufus let a small smirk edge around his mouth, looking directly into the boy's eyes.

"Hm…," the boy produced. "I… I don't know…"

Rufus leaned back and shrugged. "I can also stay neutral and you can decide what to tell Reeve, how about it?"

"What… what does 'neutral' mean?"

Rufus shrugged again. "Oh, I just won't tell Reeve anything."

The boy studied him for a moment and nodded then, slowly. "Okay?"

Rufus, although pretty cold by now, felt satisfied. There was a high probability now that the boy would lie. For a moment, the thought passed his mind that he could still tell Reeve where they had met the boy, but he dismissed it again. It was far more advantageous if the boy started trusting him.…. And, he had to admit, he was still impressed that the boy had had the courage to excuse directly to his face. It was still somewhat puzzling him. He actually _liked_ the kid. Otherwise, he would have surely not gone through the effort to get him to lie.

He turned back to Tseng and tried to hide the shiver. "Did the investigations uncover anything, so far?"

Tseng turned his head. He certainly hadn't been pleased with his dealings with Denzel. "The cases are quite ugly. It seems to be either the third or fourth so far."

Rufus inclined his head towards Tseng. "'third _or_ fourth'?"

"There is another missing person case, and the police assume that it might be another victim. The Inspector is very sure by now that some one is targeting New Geostigma victims."

Rufus frowned, eyes on Denzel who was watching them curiously. "I don't like that. Let the Turks join the investigations."

"Yes, Sir."

"Um… Reeve says they aren't sure if the are really murdering white-spots-patients. He told Tifa." Denzel uttered this only after several moments.

"Indeed? Now, that answer might be related to other sensations, with you mother, might it not?"

Denzel frowned at Rufus. "Reeve wouldn't ever lie to Tifa!"

Rufus gave a short but friendly laugh. "I'm sorry, I'm _sure_ you're right." The kid wouldn't detect the irony, anyway.

Indeed, Denzel seemed satisfied after studying him a moment and started looking outside again. But it wasn't far to Shin-Ra's headquarter anymore. By now, Rufus felt chilled to his bones, exhausted, too. He shouldn't have left the building.

"Reeve's people aren't here, yet," Tseng informed him on arrival. He had fingered at his mobile moments before.

Rufus nodded. So, they were to keep the boy a little longer. He studied the boy for a moment before he arrived at an idea, "What about a hot chocolate, then, Denzel?" Children, if he remembered correctly, liked hot chocolate.

The boy looked up in surprise into an expression that he could have categorized under 'mocking' had he known Rufus any better. "Um… yes, please!"

"Follow me, then."

Warm air welcomed them into the building and into the small parlour Rufus chose for them to wait in.

"Will you have a drink, too, Tseng? Tea, perhaps?"

The Turk hesitated and seemed in doubt for a moment. "Will you have tea, too, Shachou?" he replied at last, smoothly.

Rufus nodded with a small smile. "Yes, please." He liked the way the Turk sometimes read his thoughts.

Tseng gave a nod and disappeared through the door only to return after several moments.

"Reno said he would be delighted to bring them," he announced and sat down. Rufus lifted an eyebrow and Tseng replied the gaze calmly. So, either had there been some trouble with the other Turk or Tseng was expecting some.

Denzel, meanwhile, was studying the room and didn't seem to feel quite well in his chair. Rufus knew it was his job to make Denzel's stay comfortable, but he had no idea how to talk to an intimidated child. For intimidated, surely, the boy was.

"Hm…," he started at last. "Which grade are you in, at the moment? You _are_ going to school, I assume?"

Denzel looked up, surprised, and answered only after several moments and with a little distrust. But being questioned after his favourite subject, he answered livelier.

After several moments, Reno entered, grinning and winking at the boy who was just giving an account of what he and his friends usually played after school. He seemed to be delighted to see Reno.

Just when Reno was about to leave, a knock on the door announced Reeve. Rufus rose immediately although it caused his head to spin.

"Reeve! Good to see you. Please, take a seat." Reeve took Rufus' offered hand and replied with a smile. "Rufus! I thought you were in Junon!" He had shortly paused at Rufus' cold hand.

"I returned early this morning. Would you like some tea?"

Reeve's eyes travelled to Denzel who was sipping at his chocolate and hesitated for a moment. "I am only here to pick Denzel up, really."

Rufus shrugged and picked up is own mug. "Suit yourself. – I didn't expect you to come yourself for Denzel."

Reeve shrugged. "I was on the way. But neither did I expect you to give him a lift."

Rufus smirked. "There's a murderer on the run, specialized, as it seems, on Geostigma-victims. I didn't want to make Tifa even more unhappy." He took a sip from his tea, but to his surprise found it cold. So that was the prank Tseng had expected! He turned around, displeased, the more as he was still feeling cold and placed the tea on the table. "Reno, the tea is cold."

The redhead who was just talking to the boy looked up. "Cold?" He acted surprised and took the mug from the table. "You're right... 's cold… funny… I'll bring you another one, Shachou!" Reno grinned good-humoured and winked at the boy.

"I'm sorry," Rufus had meanwhile turned back to Reeve.

"How did you happen to pick him up, then?"

Rufus shrugged arrogantly. "By accident, really. But I'm sure Denzel will give you a more detailed account on _his_ perspective."

"Did you have trouble again?" Reeve sounded and looked worried, his eyes darting shortly to Denzel.

Rufus smirked. "Oh, don't worry. He was - _well-behaved_, isn't that the term one uses for children?"

Reeve let out a sigh of relief. "I'm glad. Well, I'm relieved you picked him up. Thank you."

Rufus shrugged off-handed. "Whatever."

"Denzel? Are you coming?"

Denzel jumped from his chair and quickly ran to Reeve. "Thank you for the chocolate, Mr Rufus!" he shouted politely as he followed Reeve from the room.

"_Mr_ Rufus?" Reno had just entered the room again, laughing now. "Ha! How funny! I really gotta tell Rude!" He was laughing so hard now that he nearly spilled the tea he was handing to Rufus.

"Stop that stupid laugh!" Rufus replied sourly. "I'm glad he's gone." He reached out for the mug. "Don't ever serve me cold tea again!" His fingers closed around the hot mug and in the same moment, as if hit by a train, hot pain shot through his arm, so intense that for a moment, he couldn't feel anything but its fierce flaring. His vision turned into fire, it felt as if his arm was burning away, for horrible moments, the attack of the Weapon flashed back through his memory, the panic, the pain, burning everything away and in the next moment, he felt himself falling, could only just support his body against the table. His hand was still throbbing, he felt sick, felt the fire flaring back up, even more intensely than ever before.

"Rufus?" Tseng was next to him in the same moment, Rufus felt his hand on his shoulder. The mug was lying on the floor, shattered. "Are you alright?"

"I think so, yes." Gingerly, he straightened up again, pressing the hurting hand to his chest, and glared at Reno who was standing next to him, too. "What was that?"

"I've done nothing, Shachou! Really! The tea was just usual hot! Tseng had some, too!"

"Are you sure you're alright, Rufus?" Tseng had reached out for his hand now where the pain had died away into a numb hammering. The Turk's touch was cold and Rufus realized he was sweating.

"_Yes_, thank you, Tseng."

Tseng considered his hand, turned it, but as far as Rufus could see there was nothing that accounted for the sudden pain. "You should go back to bed. You shouldn't have risen to begin with, Shachou."

Rufus didn't reply, was still too puzzled with the intense pain and the sudden attack. What on Gaia was going on?

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_Thanks a lot for reading again. In the next chapter, certain things will be set right and there will be more information about New/White Geostigma._

_Please review!_


	12. Wherein Fire Is Put Out and Set

_This chapter will give a little more inside about what New/ White Geostigma is really about. I hope you will enjoy it.  


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Chapter 12: Tseng: Wherein a problem is solved and another occurs

Tseng accompanied Rufus to his quarters. In the morning, when he had been informed that Rufus had disappeared, he had sworn himself to remember the anger, however the circumstances under which he would recover his charge. Now, after the curious incident with the mug, he was fumingly mad. How could Rufus disappear, just like that, if he was that ill? If he was so bloody smart, why didn't he use his brain even _once_ to care for himself?

"Where are you going?" he demanded and tried to keep his voice level when Rufus turned away from his room.

Rufus didn't even give him as much as a look. "I'm going to my office."

"You are in no state to go to your office, Rufus."

"Reeve knows I'm back in Edge, he _expects_ to find me in my office. Otherwise, there will be questions. I have things to check."

"Let the questions be our problem. And it is your own fault Reeve now thinks you're 'back'."

"I was _armed_, Tseng, there was no point for you to come," Rufus replied sharply.

"It wouldn't be the first time you jumped off a building," Tseng returned coolly, tried to keep the anger a bay.

Rufus stopped dead in his tracks, turned around and stared at him, aghast. "Are you _crazy_? Do you think I want to _go_ where my old man is?" He paused, angrily. "I'd rather make sure you use my soul to power a lamp than join up with that pathetic fool!"

Tseng had frozen dead, stunned with anger by Rufus' sudden explosion. It was typical Rufus to get him all wrong. It was typical that he _wanted_ to get him all wrong: "Rufus…"

"No, Tseng: I'm not _suicidal_. I am not going to just _give up_. I'm going to walk this road to its end, be it Geostigma or not. I will not _yield_, I will not _brake_, I will _not_ surrender! Don't ever _dare_ to suspect me of anything the like again!" Rufus jerked around to leave Tseng standing on the corridor, but Tseng reached out for his shoulder and stopped him, perhaps a little roughly.

"You bloody well know what I was imply, Rufus."

Rufus looked at him, twice, coolly, then brushed his hand from his shoulders. "Don't touch me, Turk." The fury in his eyes had changed over astonishment to something a lot colder when he pointed at the door to his office. "Get in."

For once, Tseng hesitated to follow the order. He was fuming and he was in no mood to deal with Rufus. He had enough reasons to turn and walk away, and leave Rufus to his own indulged selfishness for once. It wasn't only Rufus' constant uncaring about security, his arrogance or his egoism – he could have lived with them – but Tseng still felt deeply hurt, even though he didn't like to admit it. After all they had been through together, after all he, Tseng, had borne for him, after all the endurance, how could Rufus still dare to fling at him that he was _just_ his Turk? Maybe, Rufus was Rufus, maybe Rufus _was_ rash and maybe Rufus _had_ been very unwell that evening, but that was no reason to hurt. It hadn't been the first time Rufus had said something like that, and it wouldn't be the last. Tseng knew he hadn't meant it, that he had only been irritable, but that didn't make the words less painful. It wasn't like it didn't make him angry that Rufus hadn't told them how far his Geostigma had proceeded already – that was understandable although wounding. – What made Tseng furious was that Rufus was too proud to excuse. What made him even more furious was that in spite of that he was too proud to open his mouth, that he would just swallow everything, again and again. It would have been so easy to quit. Reeve would take him gladly. But Rufus was his friend, and it wasn't like he never showed. Tseng knew he wouldn't ever desert him, come heaven or hell. Perhaps that made Rufus' words hurt the more. Angrily, he still gave in, and followed Rufus into his office. Turks, they were like dogs. If you kicked them, they came back wagging their tail.

Rufus was leaning against the table, arms folded in front of his chest. There was no sign of his previous attack and arrogance was plaster all over his face.

Tseng felt his anger rising again. Rufus had already taken the first step and would now turn the situation upside down again, accusing _him_ instead of being accused. It was easier for _him_ to blame others than blame himself. But Tseng wasn't about to make it easy for him, not this time. Indeed, there were things to settle and he wouldn't leave before he had settled them. This time, he wouldn't just nod and walk away again. So, he stayed silent, with his back to the door, tried not to show any of his anger or his disappointment, and waited for Rufus to make the first move.

After several moments, Rufus gave a sigh and flicked his hair. "Very well." He stayed silent for another moment and Tseng felt confused. There had been no accuse in the words.

"I believe," Rufus put the hands on the table behind him and was looking straight at him now. "I believe I owe you an apology."

For a moment, Tseng was just baffled. He could do nothing but stare at Rufus whose cold eyes were resting on his.

His charge flicked his hair from his face and fixed Tseng, earnestly: "You aren't only protecting me and I would be stupid not to be thankful for that. I acknowledge that I owe you in return, much more than money can ever pay. I should have told you how far Geostigma had truly proceeded when I received the results. I didn't, though, because I didn't want to decrease moral. I was wrong to withhold that knowledge from you." Here, he paused, seemed at loss with the words for a moment. 'Decrease moral', what a nonsense! It was the stupidest excuse Tseng had ever heard in his life and although he couldn't have been more thankful for the excuse itself, it angered him. Rufus was acting again as if he could scrutinize everything in this world like a scientist would scrutinize a hill of ants. Like _he_ didn't feel at all.

"I'm sorry, Tseng, I didn't want to worry you and the others any more at that time." He flicked his hair, "Well, perhaps I didn't want you to fuss and be all sorry for me and make it even harder… I don't believe you're stupid because you are my friend… well, perhaps you are, but then, I'm equally stupid to be yours."

Tseng almost laughed with relief and thankfulness. He had never in life believed that Rufus would ever be able to utter something even close to an honest excuse. It must have cost him hell to overcome his pride. "Please don't worry to worry us, Rufus."

Rufus smiled back but seemed awkward and was suddenly pale.

Silence filled the room for a moment before Tseng spoke again: "What _were_ you alone doing at Aeris' church?" He felt bad to come up with this now, but it hadn't been settled, yet, and it needed to be settled. This was business, and business had nothing to do with feelings, and it was his duty to settle it. Although he was nearly sure that this matter would never be settled between them.

Rufus had half crossed the room and shrugged. "I needed to get out. Alone."

"Be sure to tell me next time."

Rufus turned in the doorway. The mask was slowly slipping his face. "That would be pointless then, wouldn't it?"

"The Turks could have waited outside."

Rufus sneered and turned. "Make up a good excuse for Reeve."

"I will."

_Almost a week later._

"Tseng-san, how is you arm doing?" Elena was nearly dropping the files she was holding and Tseng wasn't sure whether she had run to catch up with him or whether there was any other reason she was out of breath for. The first surely didn't make much sense to him.

"Better, thank you," he replied and stopped.

Elena gathered her files again but they still looked as if they could slip any moment. "Um… how long do you still need to carry the bandage?"

"Not for very long," he replied and felt a little intrigued by her interest in him although it was a nice feeling. Was she, perhaps, feeling responsible for his accident? He hoped, not. "How are you progressing on the case?"

Elena looked at him, surprised for a moment as it seemed. "The case? Oh! Oh, well, I daresay." After a moment, she added in a lower voice: "It's worse than we feared, I think…"

Tseng looked at her. Elena turned her head just to answer his gaze in the same movement. "It's… I'm not _entirely_ sure, Senpai. But… when you told me to take action in investigation myself, I went through the missing-persons' files and tried to find out if… if other people with New Geostigma have disappeared. I mean, I didn't find out about all of them, but I mean, you know how high the percentage is in the average population, but…"

"How many, Elena?" Tseng asked gently. Elena was about to get tangled up in her own words again.

Elena turned red. "I'm sorry, Senpai." For a moment, she looked downcast, but then drew a deep breath. "Seven, Sir."

"Seven?" Tseng was stunned. One, two, yes, perhaps, but seven! Didn't Reeve only have seven patients? – Well, six, now?

"I know, Sir. And, I've looked at the dates of their disappearance, and, apart from two, they all disappeared about a week apart. There are two holes in the series and those are closed if one takes the dead bodies into account that have been found."

Tseng schooled his face. He had feared that there was a connection, but the proposed scale of it was shocking. "What have you found out about the murderer?"

Elena straightened up. "Not much, I'm afraid. But… The autopsy of all three victims tells us that surgical instruments were used. Good ones, it seems. And it seems to be more than one person; we found several pairs of footsteps around the last victim, two of which seemed to have carried the dead body…. And, perhaps we can link the bodies."

"Are the injuries the same, then?"

"Yes, but we also found water in the lungs of all three. The water is currently being examined, but… I… shall I write a short report, Tseng-san?"

Tseng studied her. "As soon as you have some solid proves."

Elena nodded eagerly. "Yes, Sir. I will do my best!"

"You should also look for further bodies."

"We are already doing that, Sir!" she spluttered out.

Tseng gave a nod. That was far more like the Elena he remembered; lively and her tongue a little too quick. "Keep up the good work, Elena."

She blushed a little. "Thank you, Sir!"

Tseng set back into motion. He liked Elena and he was relieved that she seemed alright.

"Tseng-san…," Elena started again and it sounded as if she wasn't really sure about calling him.

He turned around again and looked at her.

"Are… are you going to see Rufus?"

"Yes, I am."

"How is he?"

"Much better." The last few days hadn't been good. Although Tseng wasn't sure it was due to Rufus' imprudent visit to the church, he had been badly ill over the last week.

Elena nodded and hesitated before she added timidly: "I'm glad he apologized."

Tseng didn't reply.

"I'm sorry, Sir." She mumbled that only, seemed to be embarrassed by what she had said.

Tseng gave a short nod because he wasn't sure what to answer. When Rufus had been struck with Geostigma the first time, they had talked much more. He was already half down the corridor when it came to him that not talking was also his fault. He stopped in his tracks and then turned back. Elena was still standing where he had left her, a little lost.

"I'm also glad," he said.

Elena answered his gaze, surprised, and for a moment, they were just looking at each other. She didn't even look bad in her Turk-suit, black, ever since Meteor. Then, Tseng turned and slowly walked away. Elena was more and more on his mind these days. He was glad how well she seemed to be.

"Uhm… See you, Sir!" She turned on her heel and off she was, a loose piece of paper falling onto the floor behind her.

Tseng smiled to himself, turned back and picked the piece of paper up. It was a list of names and telephone numbers. For a moment, he wondered if he should call after her, but then decided against it. He would just put the list onto the table in the common room. There, Elena would certainly find it.

He had expected to find the common room empty, but when he entered, one of the armchairs was occupied.

"Rufus!"

The president looked up and replied calmly: "Hello, Tseng." His left eye was fixed on him, red as blood. He had claimed that it had worsened and that he was having the contacts modified. Still, the image of it ran a shiver down Tseng's spin. It looked nearly demonic and so very sad at the same moment.

"Shouldn't you be in bed, Sir?" It was less that he was surprised that Rufus was ignoring an order from the doctor than that Rufus was able to be out and about already.

Rufus shrugged. "There's too much work to do. It's bad enough I was ill for a week. – Isn't your arm any better, yet?"

"Oh… It's mending…"

"Not broken, is it?"

"No, Sir."

Rufus nodded but was already staring at his screen again.

"What are you studying?"

"I'm looking for Cloud Strife. A little finger exercise." Rufus smirked and turned the laptop to Tseng. "Luckily, the networks haven't changed since Meteor. Nor have the passwords. I bet they have no clue as how to remove them." Rufus' smirk broadened.

Tseng studied the screen but it didn't tell him much. As the old telephone network was still functioning, Shin-Ra was still powering some parts of it while others had been stolen by local barons or just people who hoped to earn some money with it. "Why are you looking for Cloud Strife?" Although Rufus had a bad time not being occupied, he didn't buy the finger exercise.

Rufus leaned back. "I'm just going to do Miss Lockheart a favour."

Tseng looked at him, questioning. "A favour? You? And then to Miss Lockheart? If I recall correctly, she wasn't very polite."

Rufus' smirk increased. "Have I told you what her kid told me she said about me?"

"You mentioned it." Several times, actually. Tseng waited for Rufus to go on.

Rufus raised an eyebrow. "So often?" He leaned closer again. "The point is the following: if I inform her about Cloud, Shin-Ra might rise in her favour."

Tseng studied Rufus. As much as Rufus disliked it, people who dared to contradict him to his face in a way tended to appeal to him, too. Also, Tifa seemed to be hard-working. She had managed to catch Rufus' interest, so much was obvious, and if only because a good connection to her would be beneficial for Shin-Ra. But Tseng wasn't sure that Rufus' interest was purely business-related.

"Her friendship certainly will be very useful. I only think it will be hard to gain."

Rufus smirked. "Oh, I just have to save Cloud Strife, one of her children and her little bar from death, whatever."

"What kind of trap are you planning to set up for her children, then? I would suggest we hold Kuro responsible; they are in our way in Junon."

Rufus gave Tseng a somewhat contemptuous look that followed the line of joke, "Aren't you ashamed of yourself to come up with such evil schemes, Tseng? I'm not _that_ serious." He grinned smugly. "Yet."

"Be careful, Rufus."

Rufus sneered. "Has _Elena_ just mentioned something about the case?"

"Did you see us?" Tseng was surprised. He hadn't seen Rufus around. And he was even more surprised to feel caught.

Rufus pointed at the sheet Tseng had placed on the table. "That's her handwriting, isn't it?"

So, Rufus was just concluding that they had met. Tseng sat down and gave Rufus a short overview of what Elena had told him after which they continued with discussing the business of the last few days.

"Did you then find out something about Cloud?" Tseng ended his report. Rufus' ability to wring the last information out of the old Shin-Ra network had always fascinated him. Of course, nothing else was to be expected from someone who had been locked up for four years with nothing to do but watch what was going on in the world. And Tseng still remembered how well the Turks had profited from Rufus' boredom.

Rufus nodded. "He made his last call three months ago from the area around Costa del Sol to his friend Barret Wallace. That's around the time Miss Lockheart told me his mobile stopped receiving calls. He even used our network. Hasn't used his credit card since the day after, though. Anyway, I'll check whether he appeared in any of the major towns in the last few months. But the video surveillance isn't as good as it used to be."

Tseng nodded. If Cloud had shown his face to some camera somewhere and the data had been saved, Rufus would find out. It was usually Turks-business, but the reason why the Turks had profited so much from Rufus was that unlike the Turks, Rufus had – and always had had – all the passwords and thus didn't need to ask for data. And he knew the system inside out.

"If you like me to, I will give order to check the police reports bodies, too."

Rufus gave a short nod after considering for a moment. "That might be good. Too many people aren't digitalizing their work anymore, these days…. I do have to admit that I am curious what has happened to that vagrant. It would be a pity if he had just kicked the bucket."

Tseng was quiet for several moments and then reached into his jacket to unearth a black case which he placed on the table.

"What is this?"

Tseng opened the case and handed it to Rufus. "I thought it's worth a try."

Rufus turned the case and studied the about fifteen marble-sized orbs. "Materia?"

Tseng nodded. "Reeve told me, as I told you, that they were trying to treat their patients with materia."

"Hm." The green of the materia was shimmering on Rufus' face. After a while, he picked up one of the orbs and studied it. "It's spell materia."

Tseng nodded. "Yes. Denzel must have worn lighting materia."

"I feel nothing." Rufus was studying Tseng now through the orb between his fingers.

Tseng gave a sigh. "Perhaps it takes a while."

Rufus gave a wintery smile. "If they are treating them with materia, it's surely empirical."

"Perhaps it works if you touch the spots with it?" Tseng suggested carefully. Rufus wasn't pleased with the idea which would make it difficult.

Rufus gave a sigh and put the orb onto the back of his right hand. "See?"

"You have to be patient."

Rufus held his posture with frozen smile, for several moments.

"Try another one", Tseng suggest. Rufus looked very much as if he was about to bag it.

"It's not working, Tseng." Rufus put the marble back into the case and held it towards Tseng.

Tseng looked at Rufus, so long until he caught his eye. "I can't help you if you don't even want to try to be cured." He reached out for the case, closed the lid while taking hold of it. But the lid didn't close entirely and in the same moment as the case slipped Tseng's grip, he realized that Rufus had slipped a finger between lid and case. Reaching out to keep it from falling, Tseng hit against the case. The mako-marbles spilled over Rufus' hand, and in the same moment, the air between them was set on fire, so hot that Tseng felt the hair on his hand scorching, heard Rufus yelp, either in surprise or pain, and simultaneously, the materia spilled onto the table, bouncing and rolling into all directions. The flame was gone, the air filled with a faint smell of ozone.

Rufus was holding the back of his hand, staring into the midair.

"Are you alright, Rufus?"

"What was that?" Rufus slowly released his hand again, rubbing its back.

"I thought you weren't talented!" Tseng stared at the greenly shimmering marbles that were rolling on the table. Most of them had fallen down.

"I'm not talented!" Rufus snapped back. "If that's your idea of curing me, I'm quitting! It hurt!"

"I didn't do anything," Tseng replied, a little calmer. "I've never seen anything like that."

Rufus was examining the back of his hand. "If I _were_ talented, the other materia would have reacted, too. And I'm _not_. I had more than enough tests run on me to be sure of _that_." His reply was calm.

"I haven't done anything," Tseng stressed. Nonetheless, something _did_ happen. "Let me see your hand, please."

Rufus pointed his hand towards him. His skin was cool when Tseng touched it, the white blotch almost blending with Rufus' pale skin. The tissue around the blotch seemed to be harmed.

"It's burned," Tseng concluded and carefully touched the skin. "Not badly, though."

"Of course it's burned, what are you thinking?"

Tseng let go of Rufus' hand. "Hold it under cold water. I will pick up the materia."

Rufus got up while Tseng started picking up the materia. He was definitely not wearing any mako-stimulating devices and he knew Rufus wasn't wearing any jewellery apart from his watch.

"Rufus?" The water was already running.

"Yes?"

"Does your watch have cavities for material?"

Rufus sounded half vexed half thoughtful when he replied, "No, and even if it did: I'm carrying my watch on my left arm. Not on the right."

True. Tseng looked at the case, almost full now. Was it perhaps also a weapon? No, couldn't be. The flame had come _after_ the materia had fallen from the case. Tseng looked around him. He was still missing one orb.

Rufus turned out the water.

"You'd better cool it a little longer," Tseng advised him while looking under one of the armchairs.

"It's not that bad." He bent down. "Are you looking for this one?"

"Yes, thank you." Tseng got up again and took the last orb from Rufus hand but hesitated to put it away.

"What is it?" Rufus sat down again.

"Reeve said they were using materia on their patients. Geostigma is evidentially related to the life-stream. What if it stimulates materia?"

Rufus sneered. "Rejoice, mankind, barehanded killing is easier now."

"Can we make sure?"

Rufus looked up and suddenly, Tseng had the ugly feeling that Rufus had had a similar idea. But there was no curiosity in Rufus' eye. He looked scared, rather. "It's nonsense, Tseng. It can't be", he said softly. "It's contradictory to everything science teaches about mako. How would it work, anyway?"

Tseng shrugged a little. He didn't like the idea, either, and hoped very much he was wrong.

"The only way _I_ can imagine is that the materia is interacting with other materia. But how should materia form in living beings?"

Tseng lifted his shoulders.

Rufus stayed silent for a moment. "It's impossible…," he muttered at last. Still, after another moment of hesitation, he held out his hand. "Try it."

The back of Rufus hand was reddening and Tseng hoped very much Rufus was right when he took out the fire-materia again.

"Hold your hand still, please."

Rufus' hand still wasn't still when Tseng carefully dropped the small orb. It hit the back of Rufus' hand and disappeared in a spark and a flash fire.

* * *

_In the next chapter, the snow will go at last. And it'll feature Rude and Reno whom I've neglected terribly so far._

_I hope you enjoyed. _

_Please review if you did and do review if you didn't and tell me why ^^_


	13. Starts Getting Things Related

_First at all, I have to thank __Athenaion who was so kind to point out to me that so far, while Rufus is the key-character of this fiction (I can't deny that), there hasn't been much of a plot around him. I do have to admit that this is true, too, and that I'm taking a little too long to get things related. Thus, and I hope you will forgive me, this chapter will feature two different points of view._

_Please enjoy.

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_

Chapter 13: Rude: Starts Getting Things Related

"Yo, 'Leni, that just came in!" Reno dropped a file on Elena's desk and almost made her jump.

"What's it?"

"Dunno. 'Spector L told me 's urgent."

Elena picked up the small file and in the same moment, a realization sickened her. It was Monday again. Thus, another week had passed and they hadn't solved the murders, yet. Which meant she was holding another ugly death between her hands.

"See ya!" Reno turned in the door.

"Hey, where are you going? I'm not going to do your paperwork this time!"

Reno turned back into the room, grinned, winked, "Special orders from Shachou, gotta drop something by at Tifa's bar."

"My ass, Reno!"

Reno grinned, tapped the door. "No kidding this time, Sis. Gotta go. Have fun with the paper!" And off he went, laughing loudly.

Elena sighed and really wished she could go in Reno's stead. Inspector Lincoln's report would be _very_ unpleasant again. Only, how unpleasant, she didn't know, yet.

She put opening the file off for another few moments, until she had slowly dragged out the other files. It wasn't like the day hadn't started unpleasantly already.

This morning's meeting in the common room was still swirling in her head. She still couldn't believe what Tseng had told them. It was impossible that people could stimulate materia without cavities. New Geostigma was harmless. It didn't kill, people were just superstitious and silly. But, of course, Tseng was to be believed. Tseng never lied. Still, her first thought had been that it had been a bad joke. That both Rufus and Tseng had gone ultimately mad. Materia didn't act on its own account.

Then, she had forced herself to think of Kadaj and his gang again. They had absorbed materia and used it. And Geostigma had resulted from Sephrioth's infiltration of lifestream.

_There is no way there's no way_.

She closed her eyes, opened them again. The moment she had heard it this morning she had known it was bad news. Not only from Tseng's and Rufus' expression. Not because of the growing bad public opinion. She had long since stopped to be superstitious, but the news had given her the creeps.

And now, this file was turning out to be perhaps even worse.

Like she had guessed, it dealt with a new body. But it wasn't just anybody who had been murdered this time. Brad Eliot had been vice-major of Edge. His body had been found in his own apartment, like in the other cases, he hadn't been killed there. The bodyguards that had been guarding the building had seen nothing, heard nothing, hadn't even been suspicious. There was nothing on the security cameras, they had just stopped recording, nobody had even realized he had gone missing. Nobody had known, either, it seemed, that he had been infected with New Geostigma to begin with. And yet, he had been put down like a sick dog, a note pinned to his chest as if he wasn't more than a vehicle for those words:

_T__hose who have formed a pact with evil shall be found and put you into internal damnation._

She shuttered for her thoughts were directly with Rufus. That man, too, had been highly protected – of course not by Turks, but highly protected nonetheless. He, just like Rufus, had been widely known, and yet they had murdered him. And just like Rufus, he hadn't been known to be infected, and was still dead as stone.

"Yo, Aibo, you still remember where it was?" Reno asked squirrelly.

"I do," Rude replied calmly and reached out for the steering wheel.

"Let me drive! I know where they live!"

Rude sighed. "I know where they live." He started the car.

Reno drummed his fingers on the windowsill, pushed down the lock to the door and opened it again. Then, he leaned forward, turned on the radio, listened for a moment to the new – the city's vice major had died, apparently from a heart attack in his bath – switched to music, didn't like the music, either, switched back to this news (vice major still dead), forth to the music, then switched the radio out again.

"Boooring!" He announced. "Ain't no good music anymore since Meteor."

Rude ignored his friend and drove the car from the small street that led to Shin-Ra's building onto one of the main streets, slowly. The snow was melting, the roads were covered with the slush, the windscreen wipers whined when he turned them on.

"Will you let me drive?"

"No." Rude narrowed his eyes. The sunglasses weren't very useful in rainy weather and now, heavy drops were hitting the windscreen.

"I won't speed!" Reno whined.

Rude didn't reply. Reno would continued whining for the rest of the trip, but Rude had won the bet that they were going to see Tifa again before the month was other and he wasn't about to let Reno easily off the hock.

Reno leaned back, moaning.

"Enjoy the view," Rude suggested.

"Ugh! There's no view in this weather. Everything is grey and ugly!"

Rude didn't reply but turned onto the motorway that would lead them directly to Tifa's little bar.

"You know, I don't envy Tifa! Bar to run over night and every morning, her boy needs to go to his examinations and her girl to school and, these murderers around who just need to seize them! And what people are talking 'bout Geostigma! I would go crazy, yo!"

"No," Rude replied. "You would beg to join to shoot the killers."

Reno turned in his seat. "That's not what I'm talking about! If _I_ had a bar to run and my girl wouldn't come back for over a year and in that situation… I would get another girl, you know what I mean? If _you_ were gone for over a year, I'd surely get myself another partner!"

"She is loyal."

Reno sighed. "You're too romantic, Aibo."

Rude didn't reply and overtook a lorry.

"_But_!" Suddenly, Reno was almost leaning over him. "I think you are right!"

Again, Rude didn't reply. Reno didn't need a reply to have conversation.

"_We _will help her in her romantic life!"

Surely, Reno had come up with another extravagant idea. On the other hand, Rude wouldn't mind to assist Tifa a little. He had felt sorry for her, the way she had appeared with both children, the harried look on her face. The desperation she must have felt in order to come and ask Shin-Ra for help. He felt sorry for Marlene, the girl. He had liked her and yet, she had seemed rather unhappy. If he could, he would help Tifa. He was glad about their mission.

"Absolutely! _We_ will escort Denzel to his examinations!"

"Shin-Ra won't pay us for it," Rude objected. Although the idea was a good one. That would be a way they could help, and it was a way he liked.

"I've got it _all_ figured out!" Reno went on and this time didn't even left time to reply: "Elena is after those murderers and! if _we_ escort Denzel, we can observe everything! Reeve's hospital for suspicious visitors, people who follow Denzel… we could use him as a _bait_, even!"

"Bait?" Rude echoed. He didn't like that. In the end, it would depend much on how Rufus saw the entire matter. But if he had already sent them to Tifa, Rude was quite certain he would be positive on the suggestion, too. Elena, he was sure, Reno either had already or would easily be able to persuade. If he was honest, he was even prepared to help Tifa without order. They owned her enough.

"Na, perhaps not a _bait…_" Reno grinned. Of course, he had read him. "But, 'kay, we are going to do it, yo, Aibo?"

Rude shrugged.

Reno was silent for a moment, but then started again. "Yo… you think Denzel can do the same stuff as Shachou? I mean that fire-stuff?"

Rude gave him a short gaze.

"I mean, fancy that! Just touch materia and – wush! The entire room on fire! That's so cool! If I could do that, I'd never use a weapon ever again!"

"Shachou wasn't pleased." Rude remarked. Neither Tseng nor Rufus had been pleased. In fact, when they had informed the other three Turks earlier that morning, Rude hadn't come around noticing that the atmosphere in the room had been something between ice age and sparking panic. No wonder with the growing resent in the population.

"C'mon, Aibo! He just don't know how lucky he's, yo!"

"Hn." Rude didn't think so.

"Don't tell me you go with the public! Tseng's right! Life-stream can't think, yo! It can't punish people."

Rude took the exit from the motorway.

"I mean, it's far too cool to be a punishment! They're all just stupid! Just 'cause some …"

Rude frowned. Tseng had said it would endanger Rufus' projects if it became publicly known that he was infected again.

"C'mon, it's not like there's gonna be a witch-hunt or somthing. 'S Soon as people are better, they won't care no more. Tseng's just paranoid."

Rude shrugged. Fact was that at least parts of the public had started to believe again that the white spots had been sent by life-stream to mark sinners.

He had started looking for a parking-space now. That there weren't many cars in Edge didn't mean that parking space was easy to come by.

"Na, _I_ envy Shachou!" Reno slipped from the car into the ugly day the moment Rude had stopped the car. This time, he didn't gave a reply and patiently listened to all the advantages of Rufus' new talent Reno listed while they were approaching _7__th__ Heaven_.

It was raining still, the sewages filled with both slush and dirt, the whether was ugly. It had been raining since the early morning and it didn't look as if it was to get any better. In the evening, maybe, temperature would fall below zero again. But now, it was early afternoon and Reno was talking like a waterfall again.

Surprisingly, although the sign said 'closed', the door to 7th Heaven wasn't locked. Rude entered the bar first. The room was bathed in twilight and seemed completely empty. The windows seemed dusty in this little light and the place looked eerily clean.

"The bar is closed!" The voice echoed through the room, high, childish, a matter-of-factly. It took a while before Rude could locate it. It had come from behind the bar, and now that he listened closer, he heard glasses rattling.

"We aren't here for drinks." The rain was hammering against the panels, Rude felt the cold wind blowing in behind them.

"Yo, Tifa!" Reno had pushed his way into the room behind Rude and closed the door, shaking off the cold.

A small shadow appeared behind the bar, the face of a girl and suddenly, a smile spread on the face. "Rude!" She looked at the Turks. "I had hoped you would come!" she beamed. "Denzel says you wouldn't, but he's all unfair! He never takes me with him!" She came closer and added in an earnest whisper, "He's now with Reeve _all_ day long!"

"Hello, Marlene", Rude smiled at the girl with the braids who looked up to him.

"Yo, Marlene, 's Tifa there?"

Marlene looked uncertain for a moment, then moved her head. "She's asleep," she whispered and added after a while: "She said I should only wake her when something important happened." Marlene eyed the two Turks, uncertain. "_Are_ you important?"

Even before they could answer, another voice sounded down from upstairs: "Is someone there, Marlene?"

Marlene turned around to the staircase. "It's Rude and Reno!" she yelled back at what seemed to be about the top of her voice. It was definitely pretty loud.

For a moment, it stayed silent upstairs, then, Tifa answered again: "I'm coming!"

Marlene looked back at the two Turks, earnestly. "What will you have?" Her tone was a perfect imitation of what was surely Tifa's when she served customers.

"I will have…," Reno started.

"Nothing," interrupted Rude.

Marlene had disappeared behind the bar, there was a short sound of rumbling glasses, then, she dived up behind the counter with two glasses in her hand which she placed in front of her. After another moment, she had climbed onto the sideboard and was finally able to place the two glasses in front of the Turks. "You can't have alcohol, yet," Marlene explain. "Bar hour hasn't begun yet."

"No alcohol? What kind of bar is this?" Reno snarled. Rude knew he was joking but Marlene didn't seem to know. She looked uncertain.

"What can you recommend?" he intervened.

"Juice," Marlene offered after a moment of thinking. "And soft drinks."

In the same moment, there were steps on the stairway and Tifa came into the room and nodded at the two Turks. "Hello." She didn't even sound hostile. But before she entered the room entirely, she seemed to stop short at something on the floor. "Marlene, what are the glasses doing on the floor?"

"I'm sorting them," Marlene explained earnestly.

Tifa gave a sigh. "Not on the floor, Marlene. They'll get dirty and I'll have to clean them again." She looked tired.

"I will clean them," Marlene assured and then turned to the Turks. "Will you dry up?"

Rude thought a moment about that Marlene sounded as if Tifa used the same question to get her children to dry up. "Okay," he replied. He liked the child. She reminded him of his baby-sister.

"So, what do you want?", Tifa asked, leaning over the bar. Reno was already playing with the glasses. "Nice pictures you have there!" he said, pointing at the wall.

"What do you _want_?" Tifa repeated, a little more emphasized this time.

"Yo, Tifa, calm down. We ain't here for nothing bad! Right, Aibo?"

Rude gave a nod.

"Shachou sends us…"

"I will not work for him," Tifa interrupted Reno. Marlene was collecting the glasses from the floor and placed them in the sink. It were quite a few.

"No-no-no!" Reno made. "Really, you gotta relax, Tif! You ask'd Shachou 'bout Cloud, right?"

Suddenly, Tifa was all attention. Even Marlene looked up while she was still dripping washing-up liquid into the sink. "Cloud?" she formed with round eyes. Rude supposed that her washing up would become quite a foamy business, but Tifa automatically took the bottle from Marlene's hands.

"Do you know something about Cloud?" Tifa ask, breathlessly, her eyes wide with hope.

Reno placed the thin file on the table, Tifa almost snatched it from his hands and flung it open. Rufus' short note she didn't even read, flung it aside. Fright and anticipation mixed on her face, Marlene was staring at her and the Turks. Quickly, Tifa flipped through the data, then turned back to the note. She seemed to read with her breath held.

Reno was biting his lip in anticipation or perhaps with the effort not to say anything.

Then, slowly, she let the file sink. The hope in her eyes was close to disappointment. "It can't be…," she whispered.

"What can't be, Tifa?" Reno was suddenly serious.

Tifa wiped over her eyes. "What he writes here! I talked to Barret! Barret hasn't talked to Cloud in months! Longer than I, even!"

"Look, Tifa, there's a list of all the calls Cloud made from his phone and this one…is…the last…," Reno opened the file and went through it. Then, he went through it a second time, before he turned to Rude: "Where's the page? – Gaia, that computer-business was never mine!"

Rude considered the file only shortly and then flipped the page open. He placed the finger onto the last line in the list. "Here."

Tifa followed his finger and Marlene also leaned closer. "Th… That's my number…," she said, looking the page up and down.

"'Cause it is", Reno grinned. "Phoned him, didn't you, eh?"

"But… how? I mean… even Reeve…"

Reno shrugged. "Gotta ask Shachou. He knows that crap. Me, no."

"Old Shin-Ra network," Rude explained

Tifa nodded absently, starring at the number Reno was tapping on. "That could really be Barret's number. But… why…?"

"Yo, Tifa, we don't know! We're just messengers!"

"What's that all got to do with Cloud?" Marlene asked, looking at Tifa but got no answer. Then, she looked to Rude who placed his index finger on his lips. Marlene seemed to get the sign and watched with her mouth open.

"And… what's this?", Tifa asked. Rude saw her pointing to the last paragraph of another page.

"Oh… this one…" Reno leaned closer. "Well, it seems to say that Cloud turned up with 42 % possibility in Kalm four weeks ago…"

Tifa nodded and Rude saw hope in that. "And… what does it mean? What does 42 % mean? Is… Is that good?"

Reno scratched his head. "Means some head like Cloud's appeared in a camera in Kalm. System's 42 % pos that that's Cloud…"

Tifa looked at him, puzzled.

"Hm..." Reno produced. "Gotta have the photo somewhere."

Rude reached out to help him but Reno pulled the file away. "A photo I'm gonna find meself, Aibo." He turned some pages. "Here, yo!"

Tifa looked at the photo. Rude knew it already. The camera hadn't been very good. There was just a spiky head for a short moment. Tifa stared at it now as if she wished with all her might that this was Cloud.

"Is that Cloud?" Marlene asked, doubtful.

"What does 42 % mean?" Tifa asked again.

Reno looked at Rude, scratching at his head again. Rude cleared his throat. "The shot is bad. But the system is 42 % sure that this person is Cloud Strife."

Tifa still didn't look satisfied.

Reno shrugged again and repeated: "Gotta ask Shachou. He knows that crap."

"Why?" Tifa dug deeper and Marlene had a frown on her forehead, same as Tifa.

"He knows best," Rude replied.

Tifa shook her head. "Why would he do this, I mean?" She pointed at the file.

Reno shrugged. "You asked him to?"

Tifa place the file on the table. "I… I never thought he really would…"

Reno grinned. "We ain't bad no more."

Tifa looked at them, tiredly, mistrusting.

Marlene had in between started cleaning the glasses and Rude now took up a towel to dry them which Marlene commented with a broad beam.

Reno shrugged. "If you have questions, yo, give a ring to Shachou!" He grinned and scribbled something onto the file.

Tifa knitted her browns. "Look, this is all very nice of him, but… I'm not going to work for Shin-Ra, okay?"

"This is not about Shin-Ra," Rude said and place another clean glass on the counter. Marlene was now reaching out for another towel to dry the other glasses. Obviously, he was too slow for her.

Tifa nodded. "Still, tell him, okay? No, tell him that… that I'm very thankful but that I don't want to work for Shin-Ra."

Reno grinned and tapped his forehead. "Jupp. Got that noted!" He turned to Rude. "Yo, Rude, stop that glass-polishing! There's still a world to save out there!"

Rude gave him a cool look. "I promised to help."

Reno was turning his head to Tifa again, but Rude knew he was turning his eyes, too. Also, a small smile crossed Tifa's face.

"So… how's business?" Reno asked, leaning over the bar.

Tifa gave him a somewhat half-hearted answer. It was clear that business wasn't particularly good. She looked very tired.

"How's your kid, Denzel?" Reno continued.

Tifa shrugged, tiredly. "He's at Reeve's, presently." She gave a sign and continued as if she thought she had to justify that, "I mean, you know what people are saying about White Geostigma. Even his friends… And it's really better for him if he doesn't always go to an fro…" She didn't sound as if she was happy with that solution.

Reno nodded, enthusiastically. "Gotta be careful with that. He's a bit lively, ain't he?"

Tifa smiled. "Sometimes."

"Uhm… Rude?" Marlene asked him while Reno pointed out that that surely wasn't bad and listed some advantages to it which Tifa listened to, patiently. "Do you _always_ wear sunglasses?"

Rude gave a nod.

"Even at night?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Marlene's innocent eyes were studying him.

Rude thought before he replied: "I like them."

Marlene studied him for a moment long, critically. "Isn't it a little dark?"

"A little, maybe." It wasn't like he cared.

"Hm… Can't you wear glasses that aren't so dark at night?"

"I'm used to these."

Marlene nodded and placed the last glass on the counter. "Thank you for helping," she announced.

Rude gave a short nod and put the towel back. Tifa was saying something similar to Reno, it seemed as if Reno had offered their help, after all.

"Well, we gotta go now, world waits for us!" Reno grinned and turned around. "See ya!"

"Come back soon!" Marlene shouted after them.

Rude just gave a short nod before he followed Reno to the door where Reno turned again: "Maybe we'll come by for a drink! Gotta see your bar full for once!"

* * *

_As I have almost finished the next chapter, that very one will deal with Tifa and Cloud's disappearance first, but after that I hope I will get around to tell you what New Geostigma is really about and get it a little more mixed up with the murder cases. … To put it bluntly: there'll be action ;-)._

_If you think I'm missing some point or am getting completely confused with all my characters or if you just have a suggestion on what I could improve/ add/ what could happen, I'd be glad to read about it. It really helps me keeping track of the story._


	14. Wherein Tifa calls Shinra

_So, this chapter is mainly focussing on Tifa and her present problems. I hope you will enjoy.

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_

Chapter 14: Tifa: Wherein Tifa calls Shin-Ra

Tifa had sent Marlene upstairs to do her homework. She wasn't sure how long she had already stared at the file but it still didn't feel alright. In a moment of fear and panic, she had to admit to herself now, she had come to accuse Shin-Ra. But in the end, she had done nothing else but to _beg_ for their help. She had never thought she would receive help. Now, she felt very uneasy about it. With Shin-Ra, there was always 'quid pro quo', she was sure. She didn't see the 'quid', not in miles. But she wouldn't let them get her. Perhaps, it was indeed better if she thanked Rufus herself. She could then find out about the 'quid' and rid Rufus of whatever illusions he had. It was more appropriate, anyway, she felt.

Why were things always mounting up when the first had started to become difficult? She had almost forgotten Shin-Ra and her shameful visit over the trouble Denzel had started having at school because of the white spots. _Someone has to be responsible that our situation is still so bad…_, she had heard a lot of people say in her bar, usually followed by a lot of nonsense and sentences similar to: _I'm sure they formed a pact with Sephiroth. _…_life-stream now punishes the guilty ones now!_ Words like that had only fuelled her worries about the illness itself, and, lately, the murders. They frightened her and it was them that had finally persuaded her to leave Denzel with Reeve for a while. She hoped they would find the murderers quickly.

And now, Reno had asked strange questions on that topic, too.

She gave a sigh and reached out for the phone. She'd better told Shinra that she wasn't going to jump through rings just because he gave her information on Cloud. And she finally wanted to know what was up with Cloud… if Shin-Ra knew anything more than it said in the file. She _had_ to know. Just thinking about Cloud worried her sick. Still, she hesitated. It didn't feel right to call. It didn't feel right to accept help from Shin-Ra.

She took up the phone, her eyes on the number Reno had scribbled onto the first page.

She hesitated even while dialling the number.

The telephone felt cold against her ear. It rang twice and Tifa almost prayed it wouldn't be answered when the other side picked up,

"Yes." The voice was soft, mellow and yet, Tifa froze, her memory spinning with the same voice. _You are to be executed for causing this situation…. People are ignorant. They feel better as long as someone is punished._ She felt a shudder running down her spine. He hadn't even _cared_. What business had she to call him? Her heart was hammering.

"Hello?" The voice was still friendly, still sent a shiver down her spine as it whispered into her ear.

She cleared her throat. "Good day." She hesitated, felt foolish. "It's Tifa Lockheart."

The other end of the phone was silent for a moment. Then, Rufus Shinra spoke again, still that mellow voice, "I must say, I didn't expect you to call so early. Or _at all_."

Tifa didn't know what to say. He sounded so friendly, so… so _harmless_. "I wanted to thank you for the file you sent me, Shinra."

"You asked for it." His answer was a matter-of-factly, polite, still. Ironic, perhaps.

Tifa drew in a breath. "I'm not going to work for you. And I'm not going to spy for on how Reeve treats his Geostigma patients."

The other end gave a short laugh. "My, Miss Lockheart, you came here and asked me a favour. I granted you that favour. You have to stop to suspect evil will behind every courtesy."

"You are Shinra, after all." Tifa felt a little patronized and that was a feeling she definitely couldn't stand.

"I apologize, but I'm afraid I can't change that. Still, as I told you, I am doing my uttermost to make up to my responsibility and set things right again."

"Oh?" Tifa gave a short and dry laugh, as dry as her reply. "So…. You help me because you want to clear Shin-Ra's _reputation_?"

Something between a laugh and a sneer came through the phone. "Yes, I would certainly be pleased if you thought better of Shin-Ra, it would save me a lot of trouble, including this turn in conversation. But in the first place, I am helping because you asked me to. If it bothers you that I do, why did you ask me in the first place?"

Tifa fell silent and didn't know what to reply. Rufus' calm reply unsettled her. She felt angered she had given in to call him at all. And that he was right. Or was he? Wasn't he just pulling off one of his little games?

"I came to find out whether you had killed Cloud. _You_ offered me your help." Yes, that was another question, too. Had Shin-Ra really done nothing to Cloud?

"The more you shouldn't be surprised that I keep my word," Rufus replied drily. "Now, I neither have time nor ambition to discuss your suspicions all over again. I didn't have Cloud Strife killed. So, if you don't have any further question, I have a company to run."

"Actually, I do have further questions", she heard herself say but knew if she asked now she would accept Shin-Ra's gift. With everything there was to it. Still, hadn't she already by keeping the file? It was best to take advantage now and settle things. And she had to know! Slowly, she took a deep breath before she tried to be at least a little polite, "What does it mean, you are 42 % sure Cloud was in Kalm?"

She heard another rustling of paper and when he replied, Rufus' voice had changed from politeness to business. "It means that if I were badly looking for someone, I would act upon this probability. Mostly, with 85 % to 97 %, a person is positively identified. If you believe it is any help to you, feel free have a look at the surveillance video."

Tifa, still not sure if he was lying to her or if indeed, as everything suggested, Rufus was telling the truth, realized that she had hoped. Now, with no clear answer, she felt somehow let down again. That was neither a 'yes' nor a 'no'. But she knew the only answer she wanted to hear was: yes, it is Cloud. He isn't dead. His mobile is just broken or lost or anything and he's just a dumb fool again.

"This video, I mean, if Cloud appeared on one video, why didn't he appear on others, too?"

"Our network is patchy, nowadays. You can count yourself lucky that he got a hit at all." Rufus paused a moment, "To be honest, though, I rather got the impression that he doesn't want to be found."

"Okay…," Tifa nearly whispered and felt the emptiness inside her again. 'Doesn't want to be found' was no answer again. She was pretty sure that Rufus would have told her without qualms if he thought Cloud dead. But why wouldn't Cloud want to be found? Why couldn't she just get a straight answer? She couldn't go to Kalm. And… it's been eternity since Cloud had been there.

Rufus on the other end paused again, seemed to misinterpret her reaction, "If you don't trust us, you can still double check with _Reeve_. I'm sure he can at least reproduce the list of phone calls."

Tifa felt caught and a little embarrassed. "Okay. Well, thank you for the file and your answers, Mr Shinra." Still, Rufus' words hadn't made her anymore trusting towards Shin-Ra.

"You are welcome." He sounded very polite, as if he even felt like he said, only a little arrogant. "And… Miss Lockheart?" There was this playfulness in his voice again and Tifa was sure that the catch to everything was coming now. The catch she had anticipated.

"Yes?"

"Don't call me 'Mr Shinra'. That was my father."

Relieved, Tifa breathed out. "Okay. I like 'Shinra' better, anyway."

Rufus gave a soft and bemused laugh. "Goodbye, Miss Lockheart."

The line went dead on her, before she could even reply. Still, she stood there for several moments with the telephone in her hand, slowly breathing out. It hadn't been such a bad end to a pretty bad call. Perhaps she shouldn't be so paranoid with Shin-Ra. Perhaps she had done Rufus wrong and he was really just trying to help because he had said he would.

But then, she felt also confused. Confused, that she was really believing Rufus that they weren't responsible for Cloud's disappearance. For why would Shin-Ra send her such a file if they were guilty? So much detail, so much work, certainly? If Rufus had just let it slip and never mentioned it again, she wouldn't even have thought of bothering them again. And she was pretty sure that the surprise in Rufus' and Tseng's face had been genuine when she had asked about Cloud's whereabouts. She also felt that she was already accepting Rufus' opinion that Cloud was – for whatever reason – lying low. It was better than any other option. Or the only other option; that Cloud was lying in some ditch, long dead.

It confused her even more that, if Rufus send her this file and they hadn't killed Cloud, he was genuinely serious about helping and changing her opinion. It seemed to her so very unlikely that someone like Rufus Shinra should really try and make up. Shin-Ra had been evil all her life long. They couldn't just be changing sides.

So, despite everything, she decided to double-check Rufus' list, although it made her feel bad.

Her hand was already on the way to the phone to call Reeve when she decided to rather call Barret. His number was listed last on Cloud's phone list. He had never told her he had talked to Cloud. It was very curious he hadn't. He usually did if he talked to Cloud.

As she pushed Barret's number into the phone, she asked herself whether she maybe just couldn't bear it that Shin-Ra might have changed. For, if she was honest, she didn't believe Shin-Ra was even able to harm Cloud in any way. If she was honest, she didn't even believe they had a reason to.

Still, Barret's answer brought no relief. It was strange to begin with. He did admit that he had phoned Cloud, claimed that he had forgotten it; it's only been the answering machine that had answered. And, yes, he was sure about the date, his mobile told him. Though, after Tifa had ended the connection, she didn't feel well about that call. It took her a while to figure out that it wasn't because Barret had needed a while to remember, it was because it didn't seem he had to remember at all. But it made no sense that Barret should lie to her. Shin-Ra telling the truth, Barret hiding something, that wasn't the way the world was supposed to work. Even if the list suggested that it must have been Cloud who made the call. Perhaps, Cloud, too, had only caught the answering machine and left no message.

In the end, she didn't find the time to go and watch the surveillance video. Couldn't bring herself to go, either. Neither did she have the time nor did she want to. It was better to tell herself that Cloud might be in Kalm and had his reasons to have his mobile turned off than to know he perhaps hadn't been there at all. Although, she had to admit, it nagged her that she didn't have the calm of knowing. It took a while for her to arrive at the conclusion that, if she went and didn't identify Cloud, it didn't necessarily mean it wasn't him. Perhaps she would just be as unable to tell as she was with the picture. Which was as bad as not going. It wouldn't calm her worries at all and then, there were all those other things to worry about, other things that soon bothered her more.

About three days after the Turks had been there to bring the file, the air was filled with rumours about the vice-major's death. Connections were drawn to the other murders; there was even the hint of a strange message that had been left at the scene of crime. The news scared her, for, by now, every news paper was titling about a serial killer. And sometimes, only spoken behind close doors, she had even heard that some approved. She knew most people weren't doing good these days, that a lot of them were unemployed, still had barely barracks to live in and that a lot of people had been disappointed in their hopes for a better life after meteor. She knew that in the end, a lot of people were looking for someone to blame for their misery. These new views, the hate that was slowly growing towards people who surely weren't responsible for the white spots they got, sickened and frightened her. Viewed in that light, she had rarely been so happy about a decision than to give Denzel into Reeve's custody. At least until the murders had stopped.

Even if it was lonely with only Marlene at the bar, she trusted Reeve a lot and if she was honest, it was quite a relief that there was no need to bring and pick up Denzel each day. And he would be perfectly save at Reeve's place.

* * *

_I might be a little pessimistic about the public view of things, but, well, I can't just make things easy for the characters, can I?_

_The next chapter will describe how Denzel is almost killed._

_I hope you enjoyed and as always would be glad to hear your opinion._


	15. Wherein Denzel is nearly killed

_As promised, now, things will get a little more dramatic._

_I hope you will enjoy.

* * *

_

Chapter 15: Denzel: Wherein Denzel is nearly killed

Denzel opened the door to the church carefully. The sun was shining, although hazily, through the mist that was covering Midgar. The snow had melted now and it was the first warm day of the year. This wasn't a weather to keep Denzel in and so, he had slipped away again. He knew he shouldn't. Reeve had told him not to. Reeve had scold him, badly, the last time. Reeve had said that he could have gotten himself killed. That there was a murderer who hunted people with White Geostigma and killed them. As if he didn't know. And Reeve wasn't Tifa and Denzel was now wearing a band around his forehead, so the spot didn't show. He looked kind of daring with that band, he thought and when a killer came, he knew how to fight back. Cloud had shown him. And how could a killer know he had White Geostigma, anyway, if he couldn't see it? Denzel wanted to see the church again. It was always beautiful and quiet and he could always pretend there that Cloud was back. There, at least a little bit of Cloud seemed to be. There, the world was beautiful and there were no boring lessons. So, he had sneaked away. Lessons had been over and Reeve was busy with whatever adults were busy with.

Denzel slipped in through the door, but froze in the movement. The church filled with loud voices and noises.

Quickly, he ducked behind the benches although he was angry. What were they doing here? This was Aeris' church! No one belonged here! How could they even dare to shout? Tifa had scold him badly when he had tried to kill Rufus Shinra. She had assured him that Rufus Shinra wasn't as bad as he had believed and he had been so ashamed that he had tried to kill him. But now, the church was filled with bright lights and commands! He had believed Rufus Shinra! When the man had promised him that they wouldn't destroy the church, he had believed him! And now, Denzel was hearing the sound of tools on stone and wood. He felt anger rising mingled with tears, felt betrayed to his soul. He should have never felt sorry for trying to kill that man! That traitor!

Angrily, he crept to his feet again. He couldn't let them destroy Aeris' church! He peered around the corner of the bench to get a closer view on their blasphemy.

It were about ten men, all of them gathered around them spring. Some debris had been moved already. Another part of the wall next to the spring was missing. The workers had gathered around a man who was talking loudly. Much too loud, in Denzel's opinion. But although at least two of them were dressed well, there were no Turk-suits. And, also, none of these people was Rufus Shinra, Denzel was quite sure. But the people there were definitely doing something to the church! And they had to be stopped! There was much more water on the floor and some were carrying belts with tools. Others looked as if they had sweated. There were portable bright lights on the floor which were directed at the spring.

Denzel felt the anger burning in his throat. Ten people, that was too many for him! But he would call Tifa! And then, Tifa would come and deal with them! They couldn't destroy the church! He wouldn't let them! And neither would Tifa! No! She'd show them hell!

He turned around, noiselessly, and got his mobile from his pocket, opening it quickly and turned towards the entrance again. But the moment he got up, there were steps and nearly simultaneously, he ran into someone and nearly fell. Before he had even gained balance again, the man had seized his arm and tore him brutally towards himself when Denzel tried to jerk loose and run for the door. The mobile hit the floor.

"What are you doing here, kiddo?" the man demanded.

"Let me go!" Denzel shouted back and tried to free himself again, kicking against the man's shin, hard. Instead, of letting go the man twisted his arm onto his back, so brutally that Denzel nearly fell to the floor and couldn't suppress a short and angry yelp.

"I asked you a question!"

"Let go of me!" Denzel shouted, although shocked by the pain and the harsh treatment. "This isn't your church! I won't let you destroy it!"

"Hey, Marius!" a second voice rang through the church. "What have you got there?"

The man forced Denzel up when he called back, evaded his kick with ease: "A slum-brat, I think!"

"Bring him here!"

"Get going, kid!" The man pushed Denzel down towards the other men who had now turned. Some, Denzel realized to his shock, were carrying a gun.

"What is he doing here?" the who had called asked. He, too, was well dressed. He had spoken to the workers.

The man named Marius shook him. "Answer! What are you doing here?"

"Nothing," Denzel gave back, angrily, and, to his embarrassment, scared. He felt tears rising but in the same moment he saw that the men had tidied away vast amounts of debris and his fright half turned into anger: "You cannot build a spa here! I won't allow it!"

The man Marius laughed harshly and tore his arm back again, so painful that again, Denzel went to his knees. "What are you doing here? You can't be doing nothing here! This is not a play-ground!" he shouted.

Suddenly, the anger was small to the fear and shock which were close to taking over and Denzel tried to fight back the tears that were edging in his eyes. They were far more brutal than Shin-Ra's Turks had been and suddenly, when he saw the other men closing the circle around him, his anger had disappeared completely and he felt nothing but scared.

"Marius," the second well dressed man intervened. "Leave the boy." He squatted down to face Denzel. "Who wants to build a spa here?" he asked softly.

Denzel starred at him, felt tears, despite all efforts, running over his face, but shook his head. They frightened him, but still, he wouldn't give in. "I won't let you!"

The man smiled at him, but the smile wasn't really friendly. Nor was his cold voice, "We don't want to build a spa. Who wants to build a spa here, kid?"

Denzel felt himself trembling. He was scared to death now. The man Marius hadn't let go of him yet and his grip was so painful. The other men were looking hostile at him and even the well dressed man's voice was threatening below. There was this odd sensation again under his skin and it scared him even more. "Are… aren't you Shin-Ra?" he whispered.

"How dare you, brat?" The grip of the other became more painful and Denzel yelped. The sensation surged for a moment.

"Don't hurt him, Marius," the man in front of him said, reproaching.

"It's only a slum-rat!" the cruel voice of the other answered.

"Let go of him. I'm sure he promises not to run if you let go. Don't you?" The man was smiling at Denzel.

Denzel slowly nodded between the tears. What other choice did he have? His skin was trickling now and he was even more afraid now that it would happen again.

The man Marius gave a sneer and let go of him. Shakily and frightened, Denzel staggered up. There were men everywhere. Denzel didn't know what to do. He was terrified. The well dressed man frightened him the most. Tears were running down his face, his arm hurt. The trickling hurt now. He wanted to be home! He wanted Tifa to come and safe him! But Tifa didn't know where he was. If only he had sent the message!

"What's your name?" the well dressed man in front of him asked him friendlily again. "Come on, there is no need to be afraid. We won't hurt you."

Denzel didn't dare to look at the man, tried to suppress the tears but was too frightened. All that came to him was that perhaps, he shouldn't tell his name.

"What are you asking that brat's name for?" the man Marius sneered contemptuously. "Let's get over and done with him!"

"Marius! If you can't shut up, get the men to the lorry!" Suddenly, the man's voice was sharp and Denzel almost jumped. He felt it now everywhere in the air. The air around him was afraid again. They had to notice! He was so terrified! They just had to notice! But the man's face was nice again when he turned back to him. "Don't worry. What's your name, hm?"

"V… Vincent…" It was the first name that had come to Denzel. Between the men, his eyes had caught the small crack in the wall. It was so far away! If only he could manage to get there! But he was too frightened to even move.

"Hello, Vincent. Are you often here?"

Denzel nodded, carefully, knew no lie.

"Is this your secret hide-out?"

Again, Denzel nodded. He was too terrified to do anything else, his inside was already crawling.

"And you heard Shin-Ra say that they wanted to turn this place into a spa?"

Denzel gave another, weak nod.

The man nodded, too. "How do you know it was Shin-Ra?"

Denzel didn't reply.

"How do you know it was Shin-Ra?" the man repeated. His voice was so calm it was scary and Denzel felt tears running down his face again. Another, powerful surge inside him split charges. He was so terrified!

"Answer me, boy." There was an edge to the voice now, an edge that dug into Denzel's flesh like a knife. The fright was clenching everything inside him. Marius' shadow was lingering over him again and in the same moment, Denzel felt the electricity shooting through his skin. He couldn't stop it, it just petrified him, sitting there like an evil bird, ready to fly. He was trembling now. The man front of him looked so menacing!

"Sh… R… Rufus Shinra s… said so…," he stammered when the well dressed man in front of him drew in air again.

"Rufus Shinra?" The man almost shouted these words and Denzel jumped with shock and fear. In the same moment, the fright broke way, the electricity flew and one of the portable lamps illuminating the wall went dead with a burst. The man in front of him was on his legs in the same moment, everyone drove around, froze.

"What was that?" the man called out to the working men at the spring.

"He's one of them!" Another shouted.

Denzel didn't even wait for him to finish but was running in the same moment, scared to death, ducked between two men, was out of the ring, felt his heart hammering, was sick with fear. The hole was close, only ten metres!

"Shoot him! He's one of them!" A voice piercing the air, but Denzel didn't pay attention, couldn't, just ran on, more calls followed, the electricity inside him at brim again, only seven metres! And in the same moment, a hot pain tore his boy and then another, even before he heard the shots. His leg gave way under him, in flaring pain, he heard calling behind him, felt only pain. Electricity broke way again and the cloud of pain that was surrounding him went dark.

* * *

_So far, so well (or rather bad). The next chapter – next week hopefully – will __describe how Rufus finds himself at the wrong time in the wrong place._

_I hope you enjoyed. As always, I would be glad for reviews..._


	16. Wrong Time, Wrong Place

Chapter 16: Rufus: Wrong time, wrong place

It was about five days after Rufus had sent Tifa the file on Cloud. The day was bright but hazy and a very cold wind was blowing the rays of sun away before they could warm the skin and shreds of mist around the Shin-Ra building. It had looked nice enough from the office, but walking the helicopter deck was pretty cold. Maybe, Rufus thought, he should have taken his coat. That it was spring in theory didn't mean that it was almost warm, too.

While Tseng walked around the helicopter and made as usual sure that everything was alright with the vehicle, he was filling Rufus in on the progress in the New-Geostigma-murder-case. There weren't many things that unnerved Rufus, perhaps a lot less than should, but the vice-major's death had succeeded in making him at least a little uneasy. He was sure that Tseng was very much able to protect him adequately, but what unnerved him was that this was the second time he thought he actually needed the Turks. Usually, they were of course always part of his life, but rather as a showy assessory than really needed. Which made him very uneasy. For the last time he had really been in need of his Turks, this had been when Kadaj and his gang had been around. It had started with Tseng and Elena getting abducted, and Reno and Rude hadn't been up to the remnants. Different from now though, the remnants hadn't wanted to kill him in the first place. And the remnants hadn't gotten to virtually inaccessible places unseen.

"They found nothing at all?" Rufus inquired impatiently.

Tseng shrugged. "Personally, I suspect that someone of Eliot's security staff was involved in one way or the other. One doesn't enter a building without leaving traces."

Rufus sneered. "Why haven't you had them checked them, then? I don't like this situation."

"The police aren't our people anymore. Elena is taking what influence she can." Tseng looked a little worried, but didn't add anything; it went pretty much without saying that he was the one who worried most about what was going on. So, for a moment, Rufus just stood there and watched his Turk, as far as possible out of the wind.

"Eliot seems to have drowned." Tseng remarked after another moment.

"Oh, indeed? Have you managed to determine the source of the water, then?"

"No, not so far. The lab has tested several hundred probes of every source in the nearer surrounding of Midgar, even mineral water, but only the most likely so far, nothing like Aeris' church or those wells out in the desert, yet."

"Oh? Not the church?" Rufus was rather surprised. Firstly, because he hadn't had Aeris' church on the agenda, and secondly because, now that he thought about it, it held quite enough water to drown someone.

Tseng didn't sound altogether satisfied when he continued; he didn't like to leave holes, Rufus knew well enough, "They have ruled it out. There is no trace that anyone apart from us has been there in years, and you know how much water is needed to effectively drown a human."

"Hn." Rufus tapped his fingers against the helicopter. He didn't like to discuss the bodies very much; the thought of that perhaps was threatening him, too, send a shiver down his spine.

Tseng tidied his jacket. "Believe me, I'd rather have the source determined sooner than later. But unless we bribe the entire police, there's nothing much the Turks can do – The helicopter is alright."

Rufus gave a dissatisfied nod and started heading for the passenger's part. He nodded towards the two pilots who were waiting and smoking. "We are leaving."

The pilots quickly put out their cigarettes and came forth from the shelter they had enjoyed the sun in so far, and Rufus turned towards the hatch when in the same moment, his mobile rang.

"Yes." He had hesitated a moment whether to answer it or not but signalled Tseng to wait another moment now.

"It's Reeve," the other end announced.

"Reeve? Now, just what can I do for you that can't wait the next ten minutes?"

"It's very urgent, I'm sorry: Where exactly did you meet Denzel when you picked him up two weeks ago?"

"Has he gone off again?" Rufus couldn't say he was surprised when he seated himself. A cold breeze pulled his jacket open. Very much too cold in his opinion.

"Please, Rufus, don't make this a game. You know that there is someone around who is murdering White Geostigma patients and the boy is infected."

Rufus gave a sigh, turned his eyes to Tseng who was just climbing in, and leaned back in his seat. "Really, Reeve, you should keep better track on that kid if he indeed means so much to you. But we are nearly passing Aeris' church, anyway. I'll pick the boy up on my way to you, and you think about informing someone, who can raise some more unskilled hands, that I might have work for them in future. How about it?"

"Aeris' church?" Reeve seemed astonished. "I thought the spa…?"

Tseng shut the door behind them with its usual noisy bang.

Rufus gave a sigh. "That was a _joke_. I'm not building a spa." He flicked his hair. "So, how about it?"

Reeve on the other end gave a sigh which, if not said, was a 'yes'. "I'll think about it."

Rufus ended the connection and took the headset Tseng was holding towards him. The Turk signalled the pilots to start the helicopter. "We'll stop at Aeris' church on our way to Reeve." He smirked wryly and sneered. "Seems this kid Denzel has gotten himself lost again and they are all worries that he'll run into the murderers."

Tseng frowned at him. "Do you really think that's a good idea?" Or, put differently, but not uttered in earshot of others: _Are you crazy? There are people around who'd love to kill you!_

"Now, _Tseng_. It's in the middle of Midgar. You'll sooner find a bunch of _ghouls_ there than a bunch of murderers. And I suspect you can deal with _them_."

Rufus saw that Tseng wasn't thrilled with the suggestion, but got his point. It was highly unlikely that they would run into anyone but the boy. Well, perhaps Tifa Lockheart whom he was hoping for.

"We do already have enough unskilled hands and we know how to raise some more," Tseng pointed out, still miffed, as it seemed.

Rufus shrugged. "I was rather thinking that we could use that opportunity to take a probe of the water, and have it analyzed in our labs in Junon together with what ever other probes you think the police has omitted. Besides, I am quite interested to see who Reeve's people are. Just in case I have to buy them off." He smirked, fastened the seatbelt. Reeve would certainly call Tifa now, and if he was honest, it was rather the prospect of having another encounter with Tifa Lockheart than anything else that had driven him. There weren't many people who contradicted him, and of those, he enjoyed Tifa's fierce opposition the most. She was smart.

Tseng sighed and gave a nod.

In the meantime, the rotators had gathered speed and for a moment, both of them were silent. Tseng still didn't look pleased and, maybe, he had all right in the world not to be. But the church was in the middle of Midgar's ruins. Who would go there but a nostalgic kid?

"Will you take care of the water? I can deal with the boy on my own. We will be in and out before anyone even realizes we have been there."

"It would be a pity if something has happened to him," Tseng remarked, but judging by his expression, Rufus was quite sure that he didn't think highly of the kid.

"Now, that's rather unlikely, isn't it? The kid has just gone off on its own again. Even if the murderers know he's infected how should they have foreseen he'd go today? I didn't quite get the impression that he does it according to a clock. Besides, the week isn't round, yet." Rufus flicked his hair and looked at Tseng again. "We'll just fly to the church, I'll pick up the boy again and thus make everyone's day, and Reeve is going to be even more indebt to me." He smirked and turned back to the window.

"And if not?"

Rufus shrugged. "Then, it's too late, anyway. Until they are sure, though, I can still have my meeting with Reeve." He studied the rubble passing below them. He was pretty sure the boy was just silly again. Although Reeve perhaps wasn't as silly to be as worried as he had sounded. After all, the murderers did horrible things to their victims and there was no way to be sure that they halted for children, "It's pathetic, really. How does Reeve want to pull up a company if he can't even get one child into obedience?"

"You of all should know that men who rule a company draconically can be slack with their offspring," Tseng shrugged.

Rufus sneered. "I'd be surprised if that boy was Reeve's offspring."

"You get my point." Tseng didn't move a muscle in his face and Rufus knew perfectly well what he was aiming at, but didn't reply. For the rest of the short journey, they stayed silent and Rufus studied the area below them which, hopefully, would soon become a large building sight.

Wet dust and mist were whirling around the chopper, the rubble was slowly rising sky-high around them. The helicopter touched down with a heavy thud and Rufus got up and put his headset down. The weather outside looked half inviting with the sun shimmering through the bluish haze.

Tseng had also put his headset down and was squatting next to him when he pulled the door open. A cold puff of air hit them, mingled with haze. It must have rained here early that day. Rufus gave a sigh. Perhaps it hadn't been a good idea after all. He would certainly get dirt on his clothes.

"Very well." He propelled himself outside onto the wet ground. There was no sign of life anywhere and while the area had been quite beautiful in snow, the sheets of mist between the rubble looked ghostly. The sun above them was half shining, half glowing through the haze, slightly reddish where the haze was thickest.

"You secure the surrounding; I'm going to get the boy and the water."

Tseng didn't reply. As usual, he wasn't wearing much of an expression, but Rufus knew that he wasn't thrilled. He had wanted to make Tseng more comfortable with the suggestion, but of course, Tseng wasn't; for the Turk, there would always be a possibility of a bunch of highly armed murderers was waiting in the church for their arrival.

There was certainly no sign of that bunch. And who would be here, in the midst of rubble?

"I'm coming with you, Rufus," Tseng announced. Now, there was even a frown between his eyes.

"Trouble?" Rufus set into motion, not very concerned. A cloud had passed, the sun was bright now, the light, Rufus had to admit, was beautiful. No wonder the boy had come here.

"The rubble has been disturbed over there."

"We won't stay long." Rufus couldn't care much less. If someone had parked a vehicle around the corner, they would have seen it on landing. This business would be settled within a few minutes and before anyone could appear and make trouble. His eyes had caught a small bike at the wall of the church and a smile crossed his face.

"See?" he pointed the colourful bike out to Tseng, "we didn't come here for nothing." He swiftly mounted the few stairs to the church when Tseng suddenly froze. There had been a movement in the rubble and when Rufus turned to follow Tseng's gaze, hand already inside his jacket, he couldn't hide a smirk as he felt a thrill rising inside him. Who would have thought that today's main-actress would show up that early?

Only moments later, Tifa Lockheart jumped off the black motorbike she had been driving, looking both worried and angry.

"Good afternoon, Miss Lockheart," Rufus greeted her first and politely. "Your godson seems to be here indeed."

Tifa was up the steps in less than five seconds, a crease on her forehead. She didn't look pleased with the situation at all, nor did she follow Rufus' gesture to the bike but gave him a nod somewhere between cold and thankful, "Thanks for your tip and your efforts, Shinra." Her tone, though, made clear that she didn't appreciate his presents.

"You're welcome," Rufus replied smugly.

"Don't worry, Shinra, your _deal_ with Reeve should still be on," Tifa nearly spat that, reached for the door in the same moment and turned away from them with a jerk.

Rufus shrugged, displeased with her contempt. "If you trained your children better, there would be no need for _you_ to rely on tips from _me_." He turned back to Tseng who, several steps away, was considering something on the ground, frowning. Even though he would have never admitted it, he felt offended by Tifa's reply. In his opinion, he had done quite a lot to earn at least an improved opinion. And, though Rufus didn't like to admit it, either, he clearly liked her and had hoped for a little more conversation. But before he could even turn entirely, he realized that she had frozen stiff in the doorway. He stopped in his movement, too, ready to see the anger about his statement on her face. Instead, she had frozen stiff on the spot, staring into the interior of the church, alarm plastered all over her face. Uneasy, Rufus turned back, and went up the step he had already descended.

"What is it?" he inquired, looking past her into the church and stopped, too. First, the beam-lights on the floor sprang into his eyes, then, that obviously, the church had been worked at. Recently. But only when Tifa let out a strangled cry did he see the small bundle that was lying close to the crack in the wall. Tifa started running in the same moment, calling the boy's name with a throttled voice.

"Secure the escape," Rufus ordered over his shoulder to Tseng, set into motion simultaneously, even trying to access the situation running. There were lights in the church, new, judging by their looks. Everything looked as if just abandoned. Whoever had been there would clearly come back, soon even, by the looks of it. Maybe, their approach had only scared them into hiding. Maybe, they were already on their way back. He was definitely running into the wrong direction.

There was a pool of blood around the boy, sipping away through the wooden floor. Tifa was already kneeling next to him, calling his name. The child had been shot, twice, didn't show any reaction to Tifa's calling. Her fingers were frantically feeling for Denzel's carotid, anguish tearing her face. For a moment, just, the boy's eyes flickered at her touch, only shortly, his blood pouring away over the church floor.

Rufus cursed himself. He cursed himself for being stupid enough to propose to Reeve to pick up the boy. Just for a silly sparing match with an old enemy he had taken too much a liking in. He cursed himself even more for not having turned entirely around and walked away when Tifa had frowned in the doorway. But most of all, he cursed himself for being logical. He felt sickened by the sight of blood, sickened by the smell in the air, sickened by the prospect of such degrading work. This wasn't his business. This was best at all Turk's business. _He_ wasn't the one who was supposed to get his hands dirty! Even the prospect of something as dirty as blood on his finger gave rise to nausea. By all rights, he should turn and walk out of this church, never to turn back again. Or he should order Tseng to take care of the boy. But _logically_, that just wasn't the way things were going to work. _Logically, _they had to get the hell out of here, as quickly as possible, but _logically_, 'they' included the boy, too, for there was only one solution to this equation if he didn't want his business with Reeve to go to hell;

The boy had to go to a hospital and there was no way Tifa would get him there by herself. Rufus squatted down, scanning the boy's body. They had to get out of here, soon, before the workers returned like the Morlocks at night, but he wasn't sure the boy could be moved. There was awfully much blood. The wounds were still spilling more, one in the leg, one somewhere through the upper arm or upper body. Tifa had already turned to the ugly wound in the boy's leg, and Rufus quickly leaned forward to open the blood-drenched jacket to get to the other wound. Blood was sipping over his well manicured fingers and gloves, sickening him, but even before Tifa could turn her head, he was sure the wound had to be in the arm. The boy's eyes were fixed on him, stared, although it hadn't been more than half a minute, his breathing was already shallower. At this rate, he would bleed to death within minutes.

"His leg first!" Tifa's voice was almost emotionless. She had placed her hands on the boy's leg, was trying to bind it off.

Rufus shook his head. "No." There was no time. Not for them and surely not for the boy.

Tifa stared at him, her eyes wide and aghast. Was she stronger than him? She wouldn't do what he wanted her to do. Could the boy be moved? He didn't know, but there was neither time nor equipment to dress him here. Blood was sipping over his fingers, the boy's pulse under them seemed to have quickened even more, the skin was cold. The boy's eyes were staring at him, wide, horrified, but he didn't make a sound.

"We have to get out of here," he jerked his head at the surrounding, pushed Tifa's hands away, and, trying not to think about his suit, he slipped his arms under the kid's body to lift him up. He had learned how theoretically to do it, but when he tried to lift the boy up, he nearly lost his balance. The kid wasn't much heavier than he had expected but completely limp, just staring at him. The moment he lifted him knew his grip was as good as it should have been and he needed all his strength to just stop the boy from slipping.

Luckily, Tifa had understood in the same moment, assisted him quickly, lips pressed to a thin line and then followed as he tried to hurry. Hurry, before the others returned, hurry, before the boy lost too much blood, hurry, before his own strength would fail. He felt the blood sipping through his own clothes, the way the boy was staring at him unnerved.

Tifa pushed the door to the church open, bright light engulfed them, in the same moment, Tseng turned around, Rufus didn't even have the time to catch his expression, the boy was slipping his grip, his arms were hurting already. He nearly stumbled when he hurried down the steps, the helicopter was already running again, Tifa had overtaken him, pushed the door to the helicopter open, Rufus tightened his grip in the boy's clothing, felt the blood on his own skin now, the kid slipping his slacking arms.

Tseng next to him was scanning the surrounding, holding a his pistol in one hand, the other at his ear, ordering to prepare an emergency room, Rufus' arms were hurting like hell now and by now, he knew his strength would fail him before he could lift the boy into the helicopter. But in the same moment, Tifa had turned again, helped him lift the child just in the moment he thought his arms would give way.

She was inside the helicopter simultaneously, Tseng had long overtaken them, was just unpacking a first-aid-kid when he was only struggling into the helicopter.

"Press here, Shinra!" Tifa ordered him, nodding at where she held her fingers. Above them, the rotators were gathering speed. Tseng was slamming the door close. Theoretically, Rufus knew what to do, but he had seldom felt as disgusted and sicken in his life as when he replaced Tifa's fingers so close to the wound that he could almost feel its edges, warm with the blood that was sipping from it. She quickly wrapped the white cloth around the leg, tightly enough to bind the vein off. The boy's skin below Rufus' touch was a lot colder than the blood. And when they turned to the arm, bleeding heavily, too, the boy's breath was barely detectable anymore. It had quickened again. Denzel's eyes, still fixed on them in wide emptiness, were flickering, he was loosing consciousness as the helicopter heavily lifted from the ground. Rufus doubted that they had been quick enough as he watched Tseng closing the last knot on the bandage around the arm. The white cloth around the leg was already dark with blood again. The boy was as pale as death. His skin was awfully cold, the pulse so weak that it was barely detectable but racing. The veins along the boy's throat seemed to have collapsed. And the blood was still sipping through the wounds. If they didn't arrive at the hospital soon, it would be too late. If it wasn't too late already. Rufus could barely feel the boy's breath anymore when he placed his hand over ribcage and stomach although it was coming quickly. Perhaps it had been a mistake to move him. Perhaps he had never stood a chance, anyway. Tifa was holding the boy's hand and stroking his hair. She was talking to him in a low voice but Rufus didn't catch what she was saying. He suddenly felt useless. Talking to Tifa would be pointless. There was nothing much he could say and it was surely better for her if she comforted the boy. It could certainly console her when he died.

He felt cold and his arms were still numb. His hands and gloves were sticky with blood and he didn't even want to look at his jacket. He absently took a look at his now blood-splattered watch, his thoughts racing. They couldn't have taken more than ten minutes on their way to here. Would the boy make it? Rufus doubted it. He had lost too much blood already before they had arrived and the wounds were still bleeding. At this rate, he would bleed to death.

Couldn't the helicopter hurry up?

The boy had lost too much blood when he had carried him. But there had been no alternative, had there? No, surely not. There had been no telling when those they had scared away would have returned. And a medical squat wouldn't even have arrived, yet.

Weren't they there yet?

Now, why actually did he care all of a sudden?

Rufus never had given the child much of a thought, hadn't even cared much about the boy's life when he had picked him up, but the way the boy had stared at him just wouldn't let him go. So intense and alert. He knew the boy couldn't have been anything but shocked, perhaps hadn't even noticed him, but the eyes had been so full of fright, too. As if the kid knew exactly what was going on. Rufus was surprised how much it suddenly mattered, the shallow beating of the blood against his stomach he hadn't noticed when he had carried the kid, how small the kid had been in his arms. The way the boy's hand had clung to his jacket, how slowly only it had loosened when he had lowered him into the helicopter. It sent a shiver down his spine.

Now, the child looked just small and lost, lying there, the face too pale, skull-like, nearly. The skin was icy to touch. There was barely any pulse to be felt anymore. Tseng had put the child's feet up, presumably supply the heart with more blood. But it hadn't helped much. Denzel was dying, and they had obviously failed to save him. Rufus was surprised how helpless he felt about it. The helicopter was too loud around them, shook too much.

Tifa was still whispering to the boy as if he could hear her. As if that would make dying any easier. She seemed to be talking about what had happened during the week, and although Rufus couldn't care much less he soon found himself listening. The tenderness and strength in her voice mesmerized him. She should have been desperate, frantic with fear, but none of it showed in her voice. He would have liked to tell her that the boy would make it, but couldn't bring himself to interrupt her. Nor did he believe that the boy would live. Too much blood was on the floor already. And yet, Tifa stroke the kid's hair tenderly, talking to him as if he just had a cold and everything would be alright again.

The blood had long since stopped paving its way through the bandages, the leg seemed to have stopped bleeding and Rufus was sure it had been a while since he had detected the last breath when the helicopter touched down at last. He didn't feel a pulse anymore when doors burst open and the medics were suddenly everywhere, and yet, in his mind, the boy's hand was still clinging to his jacket.

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed. Next chapter: Elena: Between life and death (I'm sorry I couldn't yet resolve whether Denzel's going to survive or not, but I'm sure the next chapter will do that ^^)._

_Please review._


	17. Between Life And Death

Chapter 17: Elena: Between life and death

Elena was shocked. Reno had told her that there had been a call for a medical support-team to Aeris' church. Rude told her that Rufus and Tseng were there and her heart had stopped for a moment. Then, she had heard that the patient had been transported to the emergency room and her blood had frozen.

She had been so sick with worries for Tseng that she had barely eaten anything. She hadn't been able to concentrate on work, had left her office minute after minute to ask for information until even Reno was displeased enough to tell her that if something had happened to Tseng, they would have long gotten to know about it (for the love of Gaia!). Not to mention Rufus. Still, that hadn't made her feel any more comfortable and she had been sick with fear till the late afternoon.

Then, suddenly, Reno had been standing in her doorway and told her that they'd need a Turk down in the hospital and if she would please hurry up.

Elena had jumped, grabbed her jacket and run, dying inside for the fear of what bad news was awaiting her. She had heard rumours that the patient they had recovered from Aeris' church was in the emergency room, badly hurt, that they were fighting for his life, that things weren't looking good. She had been worried to death.

Now, she was alone in this small room, alone with Tseng, standing right in front of him. Tseng, who was as cold as always. Tseng with his coal dark eyes which where lingering on her. Tseng whom she was dying to hug, just so thankful that he was alive. Tseng who was talking to her as if nothing had happened. Tseng who was so earnest.

"So," he finished his briefing, "I want you to take care of Tifa Lockheart. Make sure she is well. Make sure she doesn't phone anyone. We don't know what happened there and until we don't know, I don't want anyone to know that the boy survived until we have him questioned."

"Y… yes, Sir", Elena stammered and before she could hold herself back, her mouth was continuing, "I'm glad nothing happened to you, Tseng-san… or to Rufus. " The last she only added after realizing hotly what she was talking. She felt herself blushing red in the same moment, embarrassed by her loose mouth again, anticipated Tseng to tell her off. But much to her surprise, a small smile crossed Tseng's face, "I appreciate you concern, Elena."

It was a good thing, Elena thought afterwards, that she had been red to begin with, otherwise that blush would have surely made Tseng more suspicious. Still, she must have been as red as a tomato when she followed Tseng into the small room. Followed him, for Gaia's sake! He trusted her enough to give her this mission! She had talked alone to him and he was taking her seriously, thinking her capable, when a moment before, she had thought him worse than dead! He even looked back for her when they had entered the room, made sure she entered. Only when he turned to the others, she noticed that Rufus and Tifa Lockheart were also occupying the same room and received a shock in the same moment; Rufus wasn't wearing his jacket and his shirt and west were full of blood. The sleeves were several inches deep in blood, there was blood on his collar. There was even a faint trace of blood on his forehead and in his hair as if he had flicked it with a bloody hand.

Tifa Lockheart, on the other hand, looked nearly worse. Different from Rufus, she hadn't yet rinsed her hands, yet, and the front of her white shirt was covered entirely in blood. She looked worn to her bones, as if she had been at the edge of total despair only minutes ago. Now, she was smiling slightly but still looked like death.

"I think it's best if you tell no one that Denzel survived. We don't know yet who did this," Rufus concluded whatever he had started and now, Tseng stepped forward, nodding to Elena to follow.

"This is Elena," he introduced her.

Tifa looked up and gave her a short smile, "We are acquainted."

Elena gave a short nod and could just stop herself from blushing, despite the circumstances. One of the last times they had met, she had tried to knock Cloud Strife out, accusing him to be responsible for Tseng's near death. She hoped Tseng wouldn't be around when Tifa came around to remember. But Tseng surely didn't leave her much time to, for in the same moment, he turned around to leave, and Elena couldn't but follow him with his eyes. The bandages around his hand had disappeared, but his expression was anxious. He looked worried, worn out, too. Stressed, a little angry. She would have given anything in the world to talk to him about it now. But Tseng didn't stop in the doorway, didn't even turn around to her. She wasn't even sure he had looked at her when he had passed. His back was disappearing behind the corner and Elena could have stared after him for moments without end if Tifa hadn't chosen the same moment to speak and startled her around.

"I should thank you." Her voice was soft.

Rufus, who had almost been out of the door, turned.

"Thank you for helping me. Thank you for saving Denzel." Tifa's voice ran a shiver down Elena's spine. She sounded so very earnest in these words.

Rufus shrugged, off-handed. "That was the least I could do."

Was he embarrassed? Elena wasn't sure. He sounded a little embarrassed. If someone – Tseng, Gaia forbid! – would say something the like to her, she would have been embarrassed. But of course, Rufus was Rufus and not her. There was perhaps nothing that blew _his_ cool.

Tifa seemed to hesitate as if not sure whether to utter the next words or not. In the end, when Rufus was almost turning again, she did, "I didn't think you would. I thought you would just leave." She stopped again for a moment. Rufus was silently listening and Elena could sense his eyes on Tifa when the other woman continued, "You looked so much as if you _wanted_ to walk away." Tifa drew a deep breath. "Thank you for _not_ walking away. Thank you for helping."

Rufus didn't look comfortable with Tifa's words and drew in a breath, "I'm not precisely _evil_, you know, Miss Lockheart."

There was a small smile on Tifa's face. "Yes, I think I'll have to deal with that, Shinra."

Rufus was slightly smirking when he turned to leave the room, "You owe me a suit, by the way."

That, seemingly, left Tifa rather speechless. At least, she stared several moments after Rufus before she muttered something to herself, a deep crease between her eyebrows. It took several moments before Elena could figure out that Tifa had said something like 'what a materialistic bastard!'.

"He isn't serious." The sentence slipped Elena again. Tifa Lockheart had seemed nice to her so far and as she liked Rufus, she didn't want Tifa to think ill of him. But it would have been better, she thought, if she had just kept her big mouth shut.

Tifa was looking at her now, doubtfully. She looked even more tired and worn now that Rufus and Tseng had left.

"I'm sorry," Elena said and didn't know what else to say. The room was tiny. It held just one bed, one chair which Tifa was sitting on at present, and a door to a bathroom. There was another door and through the window that separated the two rooms, a glimpse into a tube-filled other room was possible. There, covered in blankets and under tubes and instruments, Elena could just catch sight of the body of a small boy with messy hair.

"Don't be…" Tifa had gotten up and was standing next to her now, also staring through the panel.

"Is… is he alright?" Elena asked after several moments. Of course, the boy was not alright. But that wasn't what she meant.

Tifa stayed silent for a while before she answered, "Yes, he'll be alright." She took a deep breath. "They said he'll be alright."

Elena couldn't see much through all of the tubes, but it still hurt her heart to see a child like this. What had the boy done to deserve something like this? In the same moment it came to her, thought, that he could have ended up very much like this that night he had been sneaking through Shin-Ra's building with a knife. What kind of world was this where children were desperate enough to want to murder and adults just shot them? In what way was this world so much better than the last she had witnessed going down? She felt her eyes stinging, staring at the boy. Maybe, she thought, the world would never be better. But they, Shin-Ra, were been better now. They had helped although this boy had tried to harm them. She felt a pang of pride. Tseng had helped saving a life. And the boy would be alright again. Maybe that wasn't such a bad beginning after all.

Tifa was standing next to her, just staring through the panel, tiredly. She looked so worn Elena could almost feel her exhaustion. She didn't quite now how long they stood there, staring through the panel, Elena's own thoughts chasing after Tseng, when a knock on the door made them turn around. Or at least Elena.

Reeve was standing in the doorway, carrying a small package. He looked worn, too, shocked, to say the least and his expression grew even more when he saw Tifa.

"Tifa…! I'm… I'm so sorry!" He stepped into the room. "I… Rufus called me and explained what happened and… I came over as quickly as I could! … Marlene is at my place and… I brought you some clothes… I'm so sorry, Tifa!" He put the bundle onto the bed and looked completely desolated. Elena had quickly turned when Reeve had entered and now, awkwardly, Reeve was crossing the room towards Tifa, looking as if he would do everything for forgiveness. Looking as if he wanted to take her in his arms.

Elena cleared her throat. "I… I'll just wait outside, okay?" She crossed the room quickly and closed the door behind her. It was really none of her business if Reeve wanted to talk to Tifa. Still, if she had paid attention, she would have been able to distinguish the voices inside.

She took up a position just next to the door, folding her arms behind her back and tried her best not to listen. It was in the same moment that her mobile rang and it surprised her so much that it took her a while to fumble it out and answer it.

"This is Elena, hello?"

"Has Reeve arrived?" Elena nearly jumped at Tseng's voice so close to her ear.

"Yes, Tseng-san," she replied and felt her heart hammering in anticipation of Tseng's answer.

"Good. Make sure you know what they are talking about."

"E – eardrop on them, Sir?"

"Yes, Elena." There was no emotion in Tseng's voice.

"Um… okay,… yes, Sir," Elena replied, confused, before the telephone went dead on her. It wouldn't be difficult to listen, still, it didn't feel right. She asked herself why on earth Tseng might want her to do such a thing, and it took her a while to come to the conclusion that Reeve hadn't been outright with White Geostigma, and in the same way, he mightn't be outright about other things. For example the murder cases. After what strange behaviour Rufus had shown with the materia, Elena was convinced that the murderers were performing experiments on the White Geostigma victims before they killed them. It now occurred to her that the only source of water around Edge they hadn't yet compared to the water found in the victim's lungs was that from the spring in the church. Because, before now, there had been no sign that anyone but them had been to there. Did Reeve maybe know more about the victims than he had admitted? Elena just knew that WRO had its own inspectors on that case. She mightn't even have cared so very much, but the Eliot-case on Monday had truly shaken her. Not only because one of the leading forms of the city had been taken down, but because they had no clue as _how_ it had been done. Tseng, she thought, had to be frightened to death for Rufus!

And then, there was this sentence, pinned to the man's chest:

_T__hose who have formed a pact with evil shall be found and put you into internal damnation._

Not only the phrasing, the coldness and the unforgiving scared her, but more that just about everything in it pointed at Rufus, even if it was only intended for New Geostigma patients.

She shuttered, tried to ban these thoughts from her mind. Nothing would happen to either Rufus or Tseng as long as there were Turks.

The conversation between Tifa and Reeve didn't lead into any such suspicious regions, though. Reeve apologized over and over for what happened to Denzel. He seemed really devastated that they hadn't taken enough care of Denzel so the boy could slip away. He seemed even more devastated about what happened to the boy but still tried his uttermost to console Tifa and cheer her up.

Elena didn't feel happy about ear-dropping on them and was thus very happy that they shared no secrets she could give away. Reeve stayed for an hour and after he left, Tifa excused herself to take a shower which Elena welcomed. She didn't like the sight of blood and it would do Tifa well not to be reminded that she had the blood of the son on her hands. Meanwhile, the afternoon had dragged into an early evening. A doctor came to look after the boy while Tifa was still in the bathroom. The doctor told Elena that she was very happy with the boy's progress and that he might be ready to be questioned on the next morning or noon.

Tifa didn't say much but looked happier when Elena told her what the doctor had said. Shortly after that, Reeve arrived again, this time accompanied by Marlene. Elena was just positioning herself outside when much to her surprise, Tseng arrived. She felt a jolt running through her body, when Tseng didn't change direction but came heading directly for her. She corrected her posture and tried to look not displeased with having to listen.

But Tseng didn't even pass her, he stopped right in front of her. Elena breathed carefully, determined not to show anything.

"Is everything going well?" Tseng asked.

"Yes, Sir," Elena replied, maybe a bit enthusiastically. "Reeve is there at the moment. He brought Tifa's daughter, Marlene."

"What is your impression?"

"I… I'm sorry, Sir?" Elena felt taken aback.

"How do you think Tifa is doing?"

Elena could just stop herself from rubbing the back of her neck as she usually did when she became nervous, "Good, I think. I mean, good, considering what happened. She's very down, of course… Reeve tries to cheer her up. There wasn't anything special, so far."

Tseng gave a small nod and Elena hoped he had gotten her hint. But he was Tseng, how could he not?

"Do you think she will accept an invitation for supper?"

Elena shrugged. "I don't know. Perhaps not. She's been very anxious not to leave Denzel alone. Reeve suggested she could go home and change into her own clothes and she nearly jumped at him…." Gaia, she was giving too much information again! "Does… does Rufus want to invite her for supper again?"

"Yes, of course, it's appropriate."

Elena smiled a little. "Well… I'm not sure. We'll have to ask her…. Uhm… how comes you were at Aeris' church anyway, this morning?"

"Rufus wants to change Tifa's opinion on us." He looked as if he agreed on that but not on going to Aeris' church. He looked like Rufus and he had had a disagreement about that.

"Hm… I was thinking that, um, maybe… maybe we should go to that church again. Because of the murder cases, you know. It's the only water in all Edge we haven't tested, yet. And, I think, it changes the situation a little, if someone was there and shot him."

Tseng gave an approving nod, no sign if he had thought of that, too. "Good thinking, Elena!"

"Thank you, Sir." Suddenly, another idea came to her mind. "I was wondering… I mean, they wouldn't have _just_ shot him for his White Geostigma, would they, do you think? So, um, what if… what if he saw someone there?"

Tseng nodded. "I'm sure he saw something. Someone was there with a lorry, shortly before we arrived."

"Really?" The word just slipped Elena and in the next moment, she bit her tongue. Of course, Tseng wouldn't tell her lies.

"There was equipment, traces of a lorry, at least eight persons. They couldn't have been far when we came." Tseng didn't seem to mind talking about the topic.

"Oh….," Elena produced. That sounded very suspicious to her. "What if someone was there to collect water? The boy must have seen _something_ important! Who would shoot a child, otherwise? But still… how can someone shoot a child?"

Tseng didn't reply on that. "I certainly want the boy questioned before either Tifa or Reeve has time for it."

Elena nodded. That order she got. "The doctors told me that they'll wake him tomorrow morning."

Tseng gave a smile and a nod.

"Uhm… what _exactly_ did happen?" She feared she had gone too far this time, but instead, Tseng's smile broadened just a little and he gave her a short account, although he seemed rather vexed that Rufus had ordered him to stay outside. Elena wasn't sure, but it sounded a little as if he had ignored the order firstly and followed Tifa and Rufus into the church until he was sure that the church was empty.

"Thank you, Sir!" She was really happy he had told her, but he didn't seem altogether happy. "Is – is something wrong, Sir?"

Tseng seemed surprised she had noticed something but shook his head. "After supper, you will be relieved by Noisy."

Elena felt her face sack. It was full moon again and she had counted herself so very lucky to have orders for the night that wouldn't mean for her to stay in a room with a window. After supper, after everything had been dealt with, the moon would surely have already risen. "Can't I also take over the next shift? I have slept enough today and…" She couldn't think of another argument. Tseng – and that fact made her heart beat higher – was just being considerate.

Now, her boss seemed a little surprised. "You have already worked for nearly ten hours now, Elena."

Elena tried to look at him brightly. "Oh… I started late today, Senpai!" Usually, if the weather report for the full moon night was as good as this night, she would have closed all the blinds in her room before the sun went down and go to sleep before the moon rose. She was quite sure Tseng wouldn't understand, but it was this perfect shape of the moon that reminded her so much of the remnants' eyes. It was the light that reminded her of those desperate nights. It didn't always set her off but she knew it was best to avoid the light. She knew it was squeamish, but she couldn't help it. She had tried, had tried to sit in the moonlight, but it never ended very well.

Tseng studied her, a little puzzled, perhaps. "It would be good to have you work here the entire night if you worked the entire …" He stopped and suddenly, his face froze.

Elena looked away. She shouldn't have started with it! She should have just accepted his orders! Now, he would know and find her weak!

"It's full moon tonight," he said and Elena felt caught and guilt any so very embarrassed.

"Yes, Sir, I believe it is," she relied, trying hard to sound as if she didn't care. Her voice was even close to firm. "I'm sorry, Sir, if you wish, I will of course not mind to be relieved by Noisy."

But Tseng didn't seem to listen. His expression was thoughtful. "I used to like full moon nights." The statement suddenly filled the room and it was so full of sympathy and regrets that Elena couldn't but look up, so surprised that her heart even forgot to beat. She couldn't believe that Tseng hadn't just dusted the events off his suit. He always seemed so perfect! In the same moment, she realized she was staring at him and knew she had to say something. But words just wouldn't form in her head. She was too confused with his statement and perhaps most of all the sympathy in it, too confused by all she was suddenly feeling.

"Yes…," was all she was able to produce at last and suddenly, she was babbling again, "I…. I… it's not like it's _that_, Tseng-san! It's – I don't mind it, really, I just can't sleep when it's full moon, I've heard it's a common problem…" She couldn't have him think she wasn't coping! She had no right for his sympathy! But in the same moment as she was speaking she realized that, in fact, she was saying just the opposite of what she had intended to say. For if she really hadn't cared Tseng's statement would have been nothing but a perhaps untypically nostalgic remark.

"It's a good idea to sleep early if the full moon is bothering you," Tseng replied smoothly as if indeed she had said something that made sense. "Maybe you should go and close the blinds in your room before supper."

Elena blushed. She felt completely taken aback. "Th… Thank you, Sir!"

But Tseng didn't reply. He was already knocking at the door to Tifa's room which was almost taken from his hand by Reeve.

"Good evening Reeve, good evening Miss Lockheart," Elena could hear Tseng say. "Rufus asks whether you would like to join us for supper."

The girl, Marlene, had come from the room and was looking Tseng up and down. By the way her expression changed, Elena was sure she would be delighted to stay. Still, she only registered half of the scene, the rest of her thoughts were revolving around Tseng and what he had said just minutes before.

"I'm sorry," Reeve replied, "but I still have an important appointment."

"But I want to eat with them!" Marlene protested.

"Marlene, please go with Reeve. I'm sure Reno and Rude will come to visit us in the next few days," Tifa sounded very, very tired when she turned to Tseng, "I'm sorry, Tseng, but I don't feel much like supper."

Tseng gave a short nod. "I understand. I'll still have some food prepared for you, in case you get hungry later."

Tifa smiled wearily. "Thank you. Please tell your boss I'm not unthankful or something…"

Tseng gave a short nod and in the next moment, he turned and was gone again as if he wasn't more than a ghost in the night. Reeve and Marlene left moments later which left Elena alone with Tifa and mostly with her thoughts. She didn't know what to think. On the one hand, Tseng had been considerate, sympathetic and understanding, on the other, he now knew it was still bothering her. And, of course, he was always considerate with other people. So, as much as she wished it, it wasn't realistic that she was an exception and that Tseng was feeling anything else than professional responsible of her. Still, he, too, had hinted that he wasn't as unscratched as it seemed. Or had he just said that to get her to talk? No, Tseng didn't lie… at least not to the Turks… or did he? She just didn't know what to think, only, that she had rarely been as happy as when Tseng had said those few sympathetic words.

She didn't know how long she had stood in the shadows thinking, when suddenly, Tifa stood next to her.

"Come in," she said. "There's no need for you to stand on the corridor."

"Thank you," Elena mumbled, surprised.

Tifa gestured her to take a seat on one of the chairs and for a moment, they were just silent.

"I didn't want to be ungrateful," Tifa suddenly said and tore Elena from her thoughts.

Elena turned, looked at Tifa, surprised, and needed a moment to figure out what she was talking about. "Tseng and Shachou didn't expect you to take up the invitation, don't worry." She tried to smile at the woman she had only known as an enemy and whom she secretly had admired. She was sure if Tifa was in her place, she wouldn't worry as much. She would certainly find a way to just tell Tseng what she felt.

"I never thought he would help, you know?" Tifa said after yet another moment. "Your president, I mean." She gave a soft laugh. "I thought he'd just walk away. Even though he followed to begin with. I just thought he'd seriously leave and take his Turk with him."

Here, she paused again, but before Elena could even think of an answer, she added, "I never imagined your president knew such things. You know, carrying someone hurt, dressing wounds, saving people's lives."

"Every Turk knows," Elena shrugged. She didn't feel quite so comfortable with Tifa's words. It was difficult for her to imagine that someone could think so ill of Rufus or Tseng. Besides, her head was still full of Tseng's words, his looks, the entire situation. She wasn't sure if she had acted completely wrongly again or at least to some part rightly.

"Every _Turk_ knows?" Tifa echoed, staring at her, despite her tiredness astonished. "_Rufus Shinra_?"

Elena realized this had been one of those times where she should have kept her big mouth shut and she had no idea how to reply, knew that her shrug was helpless and not solving the situation in any way.

"In _what_ universe…?" Tifa started again but slowed down in the same moment. "Wait a moment –"

Why couldn't she just keep her big mouth shut? Elena scolded herself. Tseng would lynch her, Rufus kill her personally, Reno wouldn't stop teasing her that she had committed the biggest no-go in all Shin-Ra. Not that it wasn't true, but one just didn't mention in anyone's earshot but those of them five.

Tifa looked very much as if someone had just explained to her that one and one actually made two.

"It's not what I'm saying," Elena started lamely. Of course, it was exactly what she had said and there wasn't much to deny about it. At least not as far as she knew. "I – I just meant… I thought you were talking about Tseng…" She realized it was pretty useless to lie and stopped, angry with herself.

Tifa hadn't appeared to be listening, anyway. She had sunken back into cold contemplating again and it didn't take long before the door opened and Noisy entered together with a man who brought the food.

The night had been restful. That was, it had been restful after she had fallen asleep at last. Her dreams had been full of her strange encounter with Tseng, crossed by her stupid remark and filled with the hectic day. But at least, she slept through. At least, she didn't dream of Kadaj and his gang. When she rose, the sun was already far over the horizon. The weather forecast had promised a sunny if not even warm day.

In her office, there was a short message from Tseng waiting, ordering her to write a short summary on their investigation of the White-Geostigma-murders. Reading this note, she felt quite disappointed. She had hoped very much that she could take over from whoever had relieved Noisy this night in order to be around when Denzel woke again. It wouldn't be long until the boy was questioned, she was sure, and she would have liked to be part of it. The more she thought about it the more she was sure that whoever had been at the church was quie possibly having some sort of connection to the White-Geostigma-murderers. Even if they only provided the water. Still, she wanted to know who was gruesome enough to shoot a child. Instead, the note told her to write a summery on the progress of the investigations with every detail. It surprised her a little; only four days ago she had told Tseng that they were following several rather weak lines of investigation or that, in short, they weren't making any progress at all. So, perhaps, they had come to some sort of agreement with Reeve who wanted to have a report now.

She was only half way through when Tseng entered the room. He could have gone to Rude's table or perhaps even to Reno's (although the Turk wasn't there), but all of Elena's attention was suddenly diverted from the screen and on him. She tried to focus on the words, tried not to look as if she was watching him, but the sentence she was just writing had stopped making any sense to her. Tseng was progressing through the room and the closer he got the more nervous she felt. She hoped it wasn't about last night! She hoped Tseng wanted to talk to Rude! She hoped he would at least spare her a look or a 'good morning', even if she was deeply occupied in her work.

"Good Morning, Elena."

She jumped at Tseng's voice, looked up, knew, of course, that he was standing right in front of her desk, "G… Good Morning, Tseng-san!"

"Could you please have a look at this if you are finished with your report?" He put a plain, unmarked file on the table.

"Yes, of course, Sir…" She looked at the file, took it up. "Um… Sir, what is it?" Normally, every file she got from Tseng was marked, at least with name and content.

"It's the testimony of the boy. For the time being, I want you to take over the investigation on this matter. Whether the boy watched something that has to do with the murders or if it's just something illegal, in all events, it was worth for them to shoot a child." Here, Tseng hesitated a moment and lowered his voice even more. "None of us is comfortable with illegal activities at that spring…. Reeve even suggested someone might try to call back Sephiroth. _Again_." Tseng didn't look as if he thought that was possible but even the mentioning of the name drove a shiver down Elena's spine and suddenly, the morning was a lot darker. "After lunch, we will announce that the boy died early this morning."

Elena nodded solemnly but felt her heart hammering. Of course, she understood what Tseng meant by that.

"We will go to spring in a few moments, thus, today evening we should have the results for the water." He didn't sound as if he liked the idea, which implied that 'we' included Rufus. Of course, Elena agreed with him, having heard at least parts of his and Rufus' argument on the matter, that Rufus was much saver from the murderers _inside_ the building. And going out to the spring seemed a little too reckless if they suspected that the murderers were involved. But she also agreed with Rufus to the point that not leaving the building and stopping all the activities he would usually do was even more suspicious and thus more dangerous.

"I will do my best to come up with some results until then!" Elena promised, sure not to give her opinion on the matter, but her thoughts were elsewhere. Tseng didn't sound as if the boy's testimony had brought up something new. But if 'they' were prepared to shoot a child, they certainly wouldn't hesitate to shoot at adults. "Be careful at the spring," she added and bit her tongue in the same moment. That was the most stupid thing to say! Whatever she felt, she couldn't tell her boss to be careful! Gaia! Why did she always talk too much?

Tseng had turned in the doorway but was smiling a little. "Don't worry." He hesitated another moment in the doorway, then cleared his throat, "The moon…," Elena jumped at that, felt herself freeze, but Tseng wasn't looking angry in any kind of way. He was studying her with a concerned look, with kindness, even. "- I hope your night wasn't too unpleasant." He didn't wait for her reply but was gone in the same moment and Elena was staring at the file, her feelings a mess.

_

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I hope you enjoyed. The next one will be on Tifa again and they'll be going to the church to find out who's been there and what they have done there and why._

_I hope I will be able to finish the next chapter before the end of next week, but I've got some important things coming up in the next few weeks. So, please don't lynch me if there'll be some more days in between._

_Please review!  
_


	18. The Church

_I this chapter will lift what the people at where actually doing there.__ Oh, and there should be some development concerning New Geostigma.

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Chapter 18: Tifa: The Church

"I'm _not_ just going to stay here!"

"Miss Lockheart, please…"

"I'll come with you."

Rufus gave a sigh. "Now, we _are_ going to tell you if we find out what exactly they did there, you know?"

"I'd rather see it with my own eyes, you know, Shinra?" She was nearly about to snap back. She didn't _want_ to snap back. Not after all Shin-Ra had done for Denzel. But she didn't trust them to tell her everything. Besides, she wouldn't be able to stand yet another day in close space, unable to do anything. She wanted to hunt those bastards down who had done that to Denzel. Who, after all Shin-Ra was suspected, might have done even more gruesome things.

"Shachou, I believe she can be useful if we _come under attack_," Tseng interfered darkly from behind his superior.

Tifa gave a nod although Tseng's statement had tasted rather bad on her tongue. "Yeah, I can safe your arse, if you're about to die, Shinra."

"Question is if you will," Rufus replied with a smirk and turned to the helicopter. "Now, do hurry; I hate to get wet."

He stepped out into the cold wind that was driving the rain nearly vertically over the helicopter platform. The water was standing in huge puddles on the concrete, the sky above so leaden that one could barely tell day from night. The wind was fierce, the rain like little needles on the skin, it was raining cats and dogs. The helicopter didn't make it any better; the rotators were blowing the rain up into the air again, mixing it with the cold wind and reaching every angle of the deck.

Tifa hurried as quickly as she could out of what little shelter the doorway had provided and jumped into the helicopter swiftly. Inside, she quickly got Rufus' point when she realized that the weather was going to come in with her until the hatches were closed. Which Tseng did almost before he had entered the helicopter.

"Ever went by helicopter?" Rufus asked, pointing a headset towards her. There was a cocky smirk on his face and Tifa snatched the headset from him without bothering to reply before she sat down.

Rufus took a seat opposite of her followed by Tseng who sat down just next to him so she was completely in his focus. In case she wanted to attack Rufus, she supposed. In the next moment, the noise above them was already increasing and Tifa nearly jumped when the helicopter was first hit by a gush of wind and then dropped a good distance on leaving the roof.

"It'll be a rough ride in this weather." Suddenly, Rufus' voice spoke into her ear over the noise of the rotators and the crackling of the static, and like always, he didn't fail to startle her up. Though, looking at him, it couldn't have been his intention. He neither looked snide nor particularly malicious. Perhaps, he had only stated this to Tseng, Tifa couldn't tell. She didn't like to remember that the same man who had ordered her to be killed had also helped her save Denzel. After they had left the helicopter, he with his Turks, she waiting to race after Denzel, and when they had waited in front of the surgery, he had turned, only shortly, and looked her directly in the eye.

"_He will make it_," he had told her and turned away again. Never in her life had anyone lied to her that convincingly, that bluntly or that simply. Never in her life had she been as thankful for a lie. Although it had turned true later, it had been a lie then. She had seen him exchange a look with Tseng when the doors had closed to the emergency room.

Denzel had been saved. But without Rufus or his Turk or the helicopter, they would have never made it in time. And yet, that moment, in the church, before he had squatted down, Rufus had looked as if he was about to turn and walk away, just because helping her would have been below his dignity. She had believed he would. In her world, Rufus wouldn't even have hesitated to walk away. The only thing he might have done was to tease her till the end of her days with Denzel's death and how she would have been unable to protect him. Although she wasn't yet sure she could trust Shin-Ra, she was very much prepared to give Rufus a chance to prove himself perhaps even likable. Still, she would never let him know. That, surely, was way below _her _dignity.

The helicopter was heavily shaken by another gust of wind, and automatically, she grabbed the armrest, but in the same moment, the helicopter stabilized again.

By now, Denzel had been secretly brought to Reeve's place where only she, Reeve and a doctor would be taking care of him. Even if she had failed to protect Denzel from getting hurt, she surely wouldn't fail to hunt down those who had done this to him. She had to make sure they would never harm anyone and most of all, she had to protect Denzel from being harmed by them again – whether or not they were associated with the White-Geostigma murders, as Shin-Ra believed. She would be back before Denzel woke and then, she would feel much calmer inside. She needed to go with Shin-Ra. Firstly, she didn't believe them to tell her everything, but most of all, she had to go to calm her own conscience.

Still, she should have been there. She should have protected Denzel!

Her eyes caught Tseng's coal but emotionless eyes. She didn't know what to make of him. She had seen the way Elena had looked at him and the complete oblivion of the Turk. Didn't he know or did he just not care? Tifa wasn't even sure the Turk had feelings at all. For all she knew, he could be nothing but his masters puppet who wouldn't even hesitate to kill his own family if ordered to.

The helicopter leaped again and Tifa noticed that they were starting to sink down into the ruins of Midgar. While the flight had been rocky, a ride on a wild chocobo was nothing compared to the landing. The helicopter was hit by gusts of wind, shook and bucked and only sank smoother when ruins had risen around them and protected the vehicle from the vicious wind.

Only after she was sure the helicopter was on solid ground and the rotators slowly decreased swirling above them, she took the headset from her ears. Much to her satisfaction, Rufus opposite to her looked a little paled by the flight, too.

"Looks like the rain has ceased," Rufus observed with a look outside and turned to Tseng who had just finished a conversation on his headset.

"Any occurrences?"

"No, Sir," The Turk replied.

"Everyone still in place?"

"Of course, Shachou."

"Place secured?"

"Yes, Sir."

"So, nobody around to kill me?" Rufus's questions all sounded slightly ironic which puzzled Tifa a little.

"I hope not, Shachou."

"Good, then let's go." Rufus leaned against the door and in the moment he opened it a fierce and cold blast of wind filled the helicopter with cold. "Tseng had the police place sentries in case they came back, so, we shouldn't have to worry," he told Tifa over his shoulder and propelled himself out into the grey day.

When Tifa jumped outside, water was splashing under her feet. The rain-sodden debris looked even sorrier than usually, crouching in the cold and wet air. The sky above them was leaden, dark enough for late afternoon, the clouds were heavy with rain. When they set into motion, the wind whirled dirty water up into the air. It was chilly, even on the short way to the church's doors. Tseng opened them and they squeaked mournfully through the wet air. Never before had she noticed that they were squeaking, and suddenly, the interior of the church hit her. Denzel had nearly died here, yesterday, and now before her, the church's darkness was looming, columns that were disappearing into dark nothingness. Somewhere in there all the blood Denzel must have left, the bullets which had ripped those horrible holes somewhere in the church's structure.

"Are you coming, Miss Lockheart?" Rufus had turned to her and Tifa felt her heart hammering in her throat, sure that she would panic the moment the doors would close behind her. Close behind her like to a tomb.

But when Tseng actually closed the doors, the icy wind was shut outside and warm air welcomed her. The air was filled with the sent of dry and wet wood, the sweet water of the spring and the muddy smell of Midgar's slums. There was not even a hint of blood in the air. Light was falling in through the hole in the roof, just enough to flood the church with a soft twilight. Tifa could almost hear the sound Aeris' bracelets would make when she ran, the way she would laugh to welcome them. The wood was creaking homily under their feet when they started down the aisle. The vapour was lying softly as ever over the unmoved spring. Lamps were lingering in the twilight around the spring and even they couldn't destroy the atmosphere of peace. But none of the equipment suggested that someone had been here for _water_.

"This church definitely needs to be renovated," Rufus remarked, nodding at yet another part of the wall directly at the spring that must have crumbled recently. He didn't say it with any other emotion than regret and although he had broken the silence, this inoffensiveness made him a little more agreeable to Tifa.

Tseng had reached a light and examined it. "It's still linked to the generator," he observed.

"Tell me, Miss Lockheart," Rufus had set into motion towards a bigger lamp that was directed at what was left of the wall across the spring, "Denzel wasn't carrying any materia on him and yet, these lights all seem to have burned out…." Glass was crunching under his feet and Tifa saw that the glass of the light Rufus was considering had splinter and she felt a surge of anger rising. Denzel must have been so frightened and all Rufus did was sounding playful, "Tell me, Shinra, what business is that of yours?"

Rufus had walked around the light, was considering its other side now. "None, really. Only, I happen to have some New Geostigma patients in Junon. I would like to know how to treat them for their own good and for that of others. I would hate it if one of them went rough, fried all the electronic and caused a black out in Junon. You know how it is when the power suddenly fails… no more electricity for the emergency rooms, no more brakes for the streetcars, no more lights on the airports at rush hour, thousands of people dead or wounded…"

Tifa stopped in the aisle. She surely didn't like the way how he put it, but he was right; she _had_ to tell him. Reeve thought that the knowledge would be dangerous in Shin-Ra's hands, but if she didn't tell him, they would surely lock up their patients, and perhaps do worse and she didn't want that to happen to them. And in the end, they would have found out, anyway.

"Shachou, it might be better to postpone this conversation until later," Tseng suddenly intervened, and surprised Tifa the more. She hadn't ever imagined the Turk could have an opinion of his own, Gaia forbid to utter it aloud.

Judging by his' expression, Rufus surely didn't value the comment but still, he didn't continue on the subject. Instead, he turned to the generator which was standing at the edge of the spring.

"Now, this place surely doesn't look as if anyone collected water here…," he announced looking around, but received no answer.

Tifa continued down the aisle and tried not to look into the direction where Denzel had been lying when suddenly, her eyes caught something lying on the floor between the benches. She couldn't quite make out what it was and turned to pick it up.

"Did the spring extend any farer when you've been here yesterday?" She heard Tseng ask.

"Tseng, there surely wasn't much time yesterday to wonder about water levels." Rufus' voice was coming from the other end of the church when he answered. He must have reached the generator, she supposed. She, too, had reached her destination and bent down to pick up what seemed to be some kind of cloth. But even before she could take a look at it, she heard Tseng shout something in alarm. In the same moment as she drove around, a shot tore the air, she saw Tseng's pistol smoking, heard the shot ricocheting, Rufus was pulling his gun, simultaneously, Tifa saw a man running. Tseng shot again, the man stumbled, hit into Rufus, knocked both of them over, Rufus' pistol went off and the air filled with a cloud of red, in the same moment, she heard the splash as both men hit the surface of the spring, noticed she was running, saw Tseng running, too, the man pushing Rufus under water, Tseng raised his pistol, aiming.

"Don't shoot!" She shouted. "You'll hit him, too!"

In the same second, Tseng reached the edge of the spring and obviously the same conclusion, dropped the pistol and jumped. Simultaneously, the water around the man seemed to boil, the man shot up, yelping in pain, Tseng impacted on him, his arms sliding around the other's neck. The water exploded, Rufus pointing his gun at the man but the body was already falling and Tifa was sure she would remember the dry noise that had followed Tseng's deadly embracement for the rest of her life. In the same moment, Tseng was at Rufus side, hand around Rufus' hand, pointing the gun away from both of them.

"Let go of the gun, Rufus."

It was only when Tifa reached the spring that she noticed the stunned look on Rufus' face.

"Rufus, let go of the gun, please." Tseng's voice was almost soft, but he emphasized his words with a short twist of his hand. Slowly, the life returned to Rufus' face and his mask slipped back in place. He let Tseng have his gun, disengaged from the Turk in the same moment and seemed to stumble before he caught his balance again.

"Are you hurt?"

"I don't think so." Rufus was staring at the dead body. There was a thin cut on his left cheek, blood from it mixing with the water that was running from his hair.

"Are you alright?"

"Hm? Oh, yes, I believe so." He tried to flick the hair from his face but looked just pathetic with the dripping sleeve and in the sodden suit. "He is no Turk, is he?"

The assumption made Tifa jump.

"I don't think so." Tseng waded forward and seized the head of the dead man in the dark suit, turning it while he pressed his mobile against his ear. The whole uncaring of the process sickened Tifa. "No, I don't know him."

"Get him out of the water. If we find out about his identity, we might find out who has ordered him. That'll tell us a lot more than all these lights." The tone in Rufus' voice was a bit too sharp for Tifa's taste, but she let it slip as she considered the man. He was tall, bulky and it surely wouldn't be easy to get him from the water. There was still blood oozing from the wounds. Tseng shut his mobile in the same moment. Tifa hadn't exactly caught what he had said, but it had sounded much like 'secure the surrounding', 'detain any intruder' and 'send a team'.

"Take his shoulder, if you please, Miss Lockheart," Tseng said, a lot friendlier than his boss who was moving towards them. Tifa squatted down and did as told, preparing for a struggle, but much to her surprise, they were finished even before Rufus had arrived. Although, she thought, he didn't look as if he had hurried very much or was in any way inclined to help. Just like the spoilt brat he was, Tifa supposed.

"There is a drain;" Rufus announced, suddenly, looking back over his shoulder. "There aren't any fragments of the _newly_ collapsed wall." He turned to the other end of the spring. "And Tseng assumed the water level must have been higher in the last few days."

"Ah?" Tifa made. It was another feature of Rufus she didn't like; he always acted as if he was smarter than everyone else.

Rufus shrugged. "If this is a spring, which I assume can be approximated, then, by definition, water must well from it. Judging by the temperature it is maintaining, even in winter, it needs to produce quite an amount of water. This amount surely is more than can evaporate. To put it short: There is a drain and they cleared it."

"Oh…," Tifa produced as it came to her what he was aiming at. If the debris was missing which should have resulted from the collapsed wall, it meant, that someone had cleaned it away. If the water had been standing higher in the last few days before, it was assumable that perhaps it couldn't drain away properly. If the water had drained away now, it easily led to the conclusion that the debris that wasn't there anymore had blocked the drain. It had never come to Tifa before that Rufus mightn't just act smart but actually was, and not only rich and spoilt.

"I need a mirror," Rufus tapped his fingers against the wood, looked at her, demanding.

"Shachou, we ought to leave," Tseng urged, mobile again against his ear. He didn't look pleased by what he seemed to be hearing.

"In a moment."

"What for?" Tifa asked. "I don't have a mirror. You're more of a mirror-person than I am, Shinra."

Rufus gave her an annoyed look. "To look for the drain."

"Shachou, we should _leave_. Now. I can send some Turks."

"Tseng, really, if there was more than one, don't you think they would have come together?"

"Rufus." Tseng was nearly nailing him down with his gaze now. "Let the Turks do it."

Rufus frowned, only shortly, then shrugged. "Very well. We are leaving." He propelled himself onto the dry land again or at least tried to for the movement really didn't look elegant nor was he very quick.

"Need a hand?" Tifa asked, pointing her hand at him. She had to admit she felt kind of sorry for him, although that he should be so exhausted surprised her. Just like – just like Denzel, she suddenly thought, when _it_ had come again. In the same moment, Rufus' hand closed around hers, although he seemed to have wanted to ignore it in the first place. Wet, the leather rough against her skin, his fingers cold, and it hit her like a jolt when she realized that she had offered her hand without thinking to the man who had tried to have her executed. And that, quite likely, he wasn't wearing these gloves because they were Turk-ish.

In the same second, nearly, Rufus had let go of her hand again, offered his thanks, and turned to Tseng who started shepherding them from the church, quickly and warily. She walked last, studied Rufus' back from behind. He kept his shoulders flexed back, his hand was clinging to the gun, warily, but still as if nothing had yet happened. Could it be true? For all she knew he _had_ had Geostigma. She remembered the way the man had almost jumped from the water, yelping, the shock on Rufus' face when he had resurfaced, and that the look hadn't made much sense. Judging by the way Rufus had reacted to the attack and was still taking it now, how quickly he had drawn his gun, fired and hit, too, he couldn't have been much stunned by it. At least not as mortally stunned as he had looked. And she had seen that kind of look many a times on Denzel's face before.

She shuttered. _This_ was something she surely didn't care to know. She didn't want to feel _sorry_ for him.

The helicopter was already running again, the rotators whirling up dirt and haze. She ducked, hurried after Tseng and Rufus, climbed into the helicopter last, but it was Tseng who closed the hatch behind them.

"Here, you might want to wear one of those," Rufus was already pointing a headset towards her, raising his voice over the noise while the rotators gathered more and more speed above them. "It'll get pretty noisy again."

"Thanks!" She accepted the headset, slipped it over her ears and sat down, the helicopter already taking off.

While Tseng seemed to prefer to stand and murmur into his headset, Rufus took a seat opposite of her. He was still dripping, and although it wasn't cold in the helicopter, he seemed to be shivering. Tseng leaned forward into a backward part of the helicopter and produced a folded blanked which he handed wordlessly to Rufus, who, after a moment of hesitation, accepted it and turned back to her.

"You still owe me an explanation, Miss Lockheart," Rufus announced even before the helicopter had gathered much height, smugly and suddenly looked at her again.

Tifa narrowed her eyes. "Oh, yeah?"

"Concerning New Geostigma. Would you rather prefer to bear our company a little longer or shall I pay you a visit at Reeve's later?"

Tifa carefully drew in a breath, at the edge of getting angry at the way he was once again lying. Only, this time, perhaps, a lie about his condition was vital for him. "You know, Shinra, I think I've got a better plan: Why don't you first change clothes and I come back later?"

Rufus narrowed his eyes, seemed uncomfortable. "What tells me you'll come?"

"You could promise to tell me about that man who attacked you, for example. About the drain."

Rufus seemed amused by the suggestion, brushed at his hair, water dripping from his elbow. "I would have told you anyway, Miss Lockheart. But it sounds fair enough. Especially as we already know who the man was. Isn't that so, Tseng?"

"Yes, Sir," the Turk replied emotionlessly. Tifa wouldn't have even guessed that Tseng had been listening, but was too surprised by the new to really care.

Rufus must have caught her surprise, smirked arrogantly. "Shin-Ra's efficient, after all."

Tifa gave a sneer. She remembered a lot about Shin-Ra that hadn't been efficient. "For someone who nearly got killed and is soaking through, you're quite cocky, Shinra."

He sneered. "Whatever." Still, there was no way he could hide that he was shivering. The black cloth was shimmering through the white, he had crossed his arms in front of his chest. His hands remained gloved, she noticed the outlines of the gun clearly showing through the jacket, just as Tseng's pistol did below his. How calm he had been although someone had just tried to kill him. _Turk_, she remembered Elena saying. And how it made a lot more sense than just 'heir'. She had always wondered why Rufus had deliberately engaged them on the roof after his father had been killed. Why he, a spoilt brat, would know how to use a gun. Why he had gone after Kadaj himself. Even his clothes made more sense; the turtleneck he used to wear, the military boots, the Turk-ish gloves mixing with a suit. The way he was insisting to be called 'Rufus' and not by his last name. Elena clearly hadn't thought about Tseng when she had answered. It made a lot of sense judging Rufus' behaviour, but it made none at all if she considered which circles he must have moved in before he had become president. _Turk_, right after common thug, had been one of the most disgusting professions to choose. And yet, everything Rufus did, followed that pattern.

It was the first trait of character she actually liked.

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_Hm. Hope you liked it. The next chapter will be dealing with what New Geostigma actually is and what WRO has been hiding so far._

_Please review._


	19. Geostigma

_I'm sorry I kept you waiting for so long, but I'm incredibly busy at the moment. Still, I hope you'll forgive me and enjoy the chapter!_

_Thanks for all your wonderful reviews!

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Chapter 19: Geostigma

"Hold you head still."

"What do you make of it?"

Tseng carefully tilted Rufus' head, a little more into the light. "Well, you'll definitely develop a bruise there."

"Brilliant," Rufus muttered, displeased. "Don't you have any more materia?"

"The other bruises will be worse."

"Yes, but they won't _show_. I can't look like a common thug, Tseng!"

Tseng gave a sigh. "I told you we shouldn't go."

"And I acknowledge that you were right. Now get the materia."

"I don't want to use materia on you. Who knows what it'll do?"

Rufus seemed displeased with that answer. "It's healing materia, what do you think it will do?"

"Use it yourself if you have to." Tseng wasn't going to risk anything. The last time they had experimented with materia was still vividly on his mind and he didn't want something the like to happen again, healing materia or not. "Or ask your doctor." Who could have a look at the other bruises, too. Tseng had been surprised how much the attacker had actually hurt Rufus.

Rufus gave him a gloomy look and fell silent although he seemed to be pretty upset.

"Don't worry, it won't show that much."

"It's bad enough that it'll show at all! Reeve's conference is tomorrow!"

"I suspect he will know what's been going on."

"That's not the point!"

Tseng gave another sigh and didn't reply anything. Whatever he would have replied would have been wrong in any case. He didn't want Rufus to go, if he was honest. Not at all. The sentence on the dead mayor's chest was still vividly in his mind: _Those who have formed a pact with evil shall be found and put you into internal damnation_. The more Rufus mingled with people, the higher the risk someone found out about his illness, and Tseng was sick with only the idea of it.

A moment of silence ensued as Tseng crossed the small living-room. Rufus looked gloomy. And he, Tseng, was still angry that Rufus had taken the materia with him. He would have thought him smarter. But he had seen the water boil and, later, the burn marks on the dead body. Why did Rufus always have to do something 'special'? Gaia, why had he agreed to go to the church in the first place?

There was a short knock on the door and Tseng smoothly moved back to the other side of the table before the door opened.

Elena entered; handle to the door still in her hand when she stopped. Just for a moment, Tseng caught her looking over to him before her eyes ran back to Rufus. "Uhm, Shachou, Sir, a messenger just arrived and brought a message for you. Only… only to hand to you personally, he said." She came into the room, seemed awkward and Tseng, besides worrying about the content of the message, asked himself just why she was. After all, Elena was part of their little group, there was no need to be awkward. But Elena always seemed to be around him or Rufus.

"And," she continued, "Tifa will be here, soon."

"Hm," Rufus produced, seemed only mildly interested in the letter. "Whose letter is it?" He got up and Tseng followed his movement.

Elena seemed surprised. "I … I don't know, Sir… wait…" She studied the envelopment. "It says: _Isolde Fontainebleau_. It's uncommonly pretty, Sir." She seemed nosy as she turned the letter between her fingers.

Rufus, on the other hand, looked very displeased. "I bet it is. Put it onto the desk in my office. On second thought, throw it away."

"But… Sir, the messenger said I must make sure you read it right away!"

"Consider it read," Rufus made a dismissive gesture and turned from the common room he and Tseng had occupied.

Elena seemed a little at lost with that order.

"Just put it in his office," Tseng told her under his breath as he left the room to follow his god and master. Elena avoided his eyes, but he could still hear her mutter a short 'Yes, Sir'. He shouldn't have even mentioned the full moon last night, he thought. Elena's expression, the way she had fought for countenance, had been on his mind ever since. The way she had blushed. He knew it shouldn't feel relieving but he was glad that he wasn't all alone with the moon. At the same time, he felt guilty. He shouldn't be thankful that Elena was still afraid like him. And if he helped her, surely that would help him, too. He couldn't just wake every month in panic, sit in the common room and hope for Rufus to come by to fuss about. Rufus always said he couldn't sleep if the moon was full and Tseng wasn't sure whether that wasn't true; full moon caused nightmares, he knew.

"…What do they think? That I bought their land because I felt _sorry_ for them? Or even beholden?" Rufus was buttoning up his jacket as he spoke, had said several words before which Tseng hadn't caught, contemplating. It was clear though that Rufus was talking about Midgar's old nobility which had been rich before Meteor, profiting heavily from Shin-Ra, and had either lost everything in Meteor or managed to loose everything ever since. Before they had moved back to Edge, Rufus had bought their land at a hilarious price, leaving them barely the clothes on their bodies. It hadn't been much money, Tseng remembered, but Rufus had said it would finance their costly way of life for a while. He had left open what would happen to them afterwards.

Although the nobility barely had any money, they were still the town's high society. The few life magazines that still published where full of them and their latest fashion. They had even once featured Rufus as a mysterious benefactor, two had titled several weeks ago that Shin-Ra was back in Edge. There had been no photos. Tseng wasn't even sure there were recent photos of Rufus or them.

"Do they really think I care for _their_ company?"

"It's an invitation, then?" Tseng asked.

"It _looks_ very much like one. My, can't they just stay in their dirty, little, self-indulged worlds? It's bad enough they mention me in their magazines! As if I were one of _them_."

"They are your likes, why wouldn't they, now that you officially are back in Edge?"

Rufus gave a sneer. "I'm certainly not likes of _them_. Nor do they anywhere in this life equal _me_."

Tseng made no reply. He didn't know much about the time before Rufus had been imprisoned in Junon, but it seemed that Rufus hate the likes of him almost as much as his father. Still, Rufus could deny it as much as he liked, but there was no doubt that the Upper Plate's High Society was exactly where he came from.

They had reached the helicopter platform, Rufus leading the way holding the door only a short moment for Tseng. Beyond the glass, rain was again hammering from the sky. The weather hadn't changed in the least and the helicopter that now was approaching was hit by heavy gusts of wind before it gingerly settled on the roof.

It took a while before the rotators had stopped and only then did the doors open and Tifa Lockheart slipped out, hurrying across the roof towards the door.

"Miss Lockheart, I'm glad you could make it," Rufus greeted her over the noise of storm and helicopter, meeting her half way.

Tifa hurried onwards. "Let's get out of this nasty weather, Shinra," she replied and Tseng held the door for them as they entered into the warmth of the building.

"I hope, Denzel is well?" Rufus asked as soon as the door had closed behind them and Tseng listened up. Judging by the tone, Rufus was really interested in the answer to that question.

Tifa nodded. "Oh, yes, thanks! He woke a little while ago, that's why I'm later."

"There was no need for you to feel obliged to come _now_," Rufus replied civilly and Tifa gave him an odd look, "Are you just being civil, Shinra?"

Rufus smirked. "Not really; I'm serious."

Tseng was following behind them, as quietly that usually, no one would be aware of him but he aware of everyone. It was relieving the see that Tifa wasn't as tense as she had been on her first visit. Not tense at all, nearly. Still, judging by the way she carried herself, she didn't trust Rufus completely. But she didn't seem to mind the president anymore. Also, she didn't look as worn as the day before. There was an expression of anticipation on her face. Tseng noted that her eyes were quite often darting to Rufus' gloved hands, but he couldn't place that look. She didn't seem to mind the conversation, though.

Rufus opened the door to the small conference room he had chosen for their conversation. It looked rather like a drawing room, with a small table and several comfortable chairs.

"Please, have a seat," Rufus offered while Tseng took up his position close to him, yet not too close to be a bother. He couldn't really get accustomed that he was more in this company now than just the head of the Turks or Rufus' bodyguard.

"Would you like something to drink, Miss Lockheart? Tea, perhaps, in this weather?"

Tifa, half in her look around, turned. She had stepped toward the table that was standing in the middle of the room. The question seemed to confuse her. "Tea?"

"Whatever you like."

After a bemused look around, she didn't seem to fancy the chairs but turned to the table where several maps had already been placed. Wheels had been busy since they had arrived about three hours earlier.

"So… what have you come up with, Shinra?" Tifa asked, studying Rufus. The way, though, she was looking at him was strange, Tseng found. A little awkward, with sympathy in it. "Who's the man?"

"Oh, he," Rufus flicked his hair. "He was one of the police officers who were guarding the church. It seems, on our arrival, he left his position. I could give you his name, but I believe it won't mean much to you."

"Why?"

Rufus shrugged. "I don't think he ever set a foot into the slums before Meteor."

"I mean: Why did he leave his position, do you know?"

Tseng was wondering a bit about her tone. It had lost almost all its aggression.

"Other than either to murder me or to stop us from finding something out in general? I fear we aren't that far, yet. I can only tell you that he wasn't violently anti-Shin-Ra which makes the first option rather unlikely."

"Oh?" Tifa raised an eyebrow.

"He used to be an Upper Plate officer before Meteor, strongly related to the McNamara-Clan, if that means anything to you."

This time, there was a little flare in Tifa's eyes, "Don't think me stupid, just because I used to live below the plate. The likes of you got all their servants from below, you know. Quite likely I know a lot more stories about your fine friends than you do."

"Please spare me with them," Rufus replied dryly. "My point is: there's no reason for him to bear Shin-Ra ill will."

"Of course not. It's not like you destroyed the entire planet. You aren't very popular these days, Shinra."

Rufus gave a sigh. "Let me put it differently, then: Do you think he would have had his job if he had been violently anti-Shin-Ra?"

"Oh? Are you controlling the attitude of the police employees now?" While not being unfriendly, there was clearly an edge to her voice.

Rufus gave a shrug. "I wouldn't put it _quite_ like that. I just try not to arm the people who would like to kill me. It would be stupid, you know?"

"I wonder you got any employees at all with that attitude… - What about the drain?"

"The Turks confirmed there is one." Rufus had stepped to the table and was pointing at the map that was lying on top. "This is a map of the water supply system. You must have noticed that, although the slums weren't perfect, you did have a water supply."

"That made things _so_ much better, thank you, Shinra," Tifa muttered and gave Rufus a dark look who smirked, enjoying his cynicism.

"Marked black are the areas that had already ceased functioning before Meteor, the parts marked by hand are those we are sure have been destroyed since then."

"That's basically everything!"

Rufus smirked. "That's what makes things easy for us, Miss Lockheart."

"No, it doesn't," she replied.

"No?" Rufus seemed bemused.

"Well, have you given it a thought that the one who uses the water knows where it comes from? I mean, they came to _repair_ their supply, so, I don't think it's just a lucky fellow who sits at the end of a broken pipe. You don't know if they even built an own pipeline or changed something in the old system."

For a moment, Rufus knitted his brows, then shrugged. "True, but that doesn't change the point; we can trace where the water is going. The Turks have already planted floating positioning devices in the system. Depending on the flow of the water, we will soon know who receives it."

Tifa drummed her fingers on the table. "Soon? How soon?"

Rufus shrugged. "Tomorrow? The day after, perhaps."

She gave a sigh. "You will tell me, of course."

"I promised, didn't I?"

"Right. And your promise means the world."

"So what, then, if I reassure you again? You will have to trust you on this, Miss Lockheart."

"Yeah. Right," Tifa replied dryly, slowly. She was studying him again, as if trying to assess him. Tseng wasn't sure but he somehow got the feeling that she was debating with herself whether to trust them or not. Then, she suddenly gave a sigh and produced a cloth from the small bag she was carrying around her belt. "I also found this in the church." She placed what seemed to be a handkerchief on the table and glared at Rufus, "Don't make me regret that I'm not giving it to Reeve."

Tseng picked the cloth up first, thoughtfully. It wasn't bigger than a few square inches. Around its hem, there was stitchery, flowers folding into each other. It could have been anything.

"I think it's a handkerchief," Tifa added and from the edge of his eye, Tseng could see Rufus' interest in studying the cloth decrease drastically. Tifa must have noticed it too; a grin was forming on her face, "I don't think it's _used_, Shinra."

"Anything interesting on it, Tseng?"

"No, but it doesn't feel cheap."

"Nothing in there was cheap," Rufus remarked and turned back to Tifa. "The lights and the generator were all high quality. It seems those people are well-funded, and there are few who are these days."

"Yeah, but you can always steal expensive equipment," Tifa pointed out.

Rufus smirked. "True."

Tseng placed the cloth back onto the table. He didn't know much about handkerchiefs but on the second look, the stitchery on the hem looked special. Although covered now with who-knew-whose DNA, it was perhaps a clue. "This might really help us. Thank you, Miss Lockheart."

Rufus gave a short nod. "You certainly won't regret giving this to us instead of Reeve…. – Now, shall we sit down while you tell us more about New Geostigma?"

Tifa studied him, slowly, then gave a soft nod. "Yes… Okay." There was that look of sympathy again in her eyes again and Tseng suddenly got a bad feeling deep down in his stomach. Why on earth would she feel sorry for Rufus? He didn't like the answer that jumped so readily to his mind.

Rufus waited for Tifa to sit down, then took the last remaining seat.

Tifa looked at him, stroke the hair from her face and took a deep breath. "Okay… hm. Well, where to start? Um… same as you, we really don't know much about White Geostigma, but we are pretty sure it's, same as Geostigma, not an illness in the common sense. It concerns only those people who were around the final stage of Geostigma. First, the white spots appear, but it seems that only a fraction of them develops high fever afterwards which lasts for about two weeks, but I think, Reeve told you already about that?"

Rufus gave a short nod.

Tifa replied the smile, a strange smile, but grew more serious when she continued. It didn't seem easy for her to go on, "Reeve has told you about the materia, I believe. We've tried to treat them with it to begin with, but it seems that it doesn't help. On the contraire, it seems that everyone infected stimulates a different type of materia. But surely you have noticed the other effects before that…" Her voice trailed off for a moment. Every cheerfulness she was still displaying was obviously not more than façade by now and the thought of it didn't make Tseng very comfortable.

"I mean that they produce spells without materia," she continued flatly and her voice broke off again and Tseng couldn't but shudder at her voice and the quietly suppressed fear in it. The news should have been good – spells from thin air – but suddenly, Tseng remembered how, out of nowhere, when Rufus had touched the materia there had been fire. Uncontrollable. If it were good, surely, the patients wouldn't be patients… And right now, the way Tifa way eying Rufus, the sympathy in her eyes, mingled with fear sent an icy shiver down Tseng's spine.

Rufus replied her gaze calm enough, but the dryness of his voice gave him away, at least to Tseng, "Don't make fun of me. It's impossible to cast spells without materia."

Tifa fixed him now. "It's not impossible, Shinra. It's the truth."

Rufus' smile tightened for the doubt of a second. "So, why is it, then, if they cast spells out of thin air, that they are patients and not heros?"

For a moment, Tifa just looked at Rufus, there was some kind of doubt in her eyes when she breathed in, mingled with fear: "It seems they also cast spells in situations when they are threatened. Without materia." She was pausing again, looked directly at Rufus now, studied him and in the same moment, she seemed to have come to a conclusion. She drew another deep breath and said, a little lower, "When that man attacked you today, for example, that would have been a typical situation."

For a tiny moment, the world froze and Tseng could only just stop himself from twitching or displaying anything. He knew, though, that his eyes were nailing Tifa down. His inside was as cold as ice. Rufus would have been stupid indeed to carry materia with him. He wouldn't even have had the time to draw it when the man had attacked him. But Tseng had seen the burn marks on the dead body. And Rufus just sat there, arrogantly, self-assured, tensed. He now smirked, slightly, and Tseng saw how the smirk cramped under his mask.

"Now, _that_ would have saved me quite a lot of trouble, indeed."

Tifa just looked at Rufus and the way she looked, Tseng knew that she was at least doubting, and below all the shock he thanked Rufus for his presence of mind. Not matter what, Tifa Lockheart couldn't be allowed to know about Rufus' condition. Now even less than before.

"You should actually worry, Shinra, they can't control it, haven't you realized yet?"

Across the room, Tseng saw Rufus' mask wavering for a very long second. Inside himself, the world went numb. Materia alone was dangerous enough, but if one couldn't even control casting spells… What was he going to do? How on Gaia would he be able to protect Rufus from himself? How on Gaia… what could he do? What was there to do?

Rufus gave a soft laugh, one so full of contempt and bemusement that it chilled Tseng. "Living materia and they can't even control it? How _pathetic_ is that?"

Tifa stared at him, disbelieving, off-balanced. It took a while before she answered slowly and deliberately: "Are you joking? 'Cause, this really isn't _funny_, Shinra."

"I'm not laughing, am I?" He wasn't even smirking.

Tifa was still staring at him and slowly the frown between her eyes increased.

"Miss Lockheart, could you please tell us how you treat them?" Tseng intervened. He didn't want to dwell on this topic any longer than necessary. He felt just chilled. Chilled and frightened. Chilled by the way Rufus acted. It must have struck him like a hammer if he turned that cynic. Frightened, because he had no idea just how to deal with it. How to pick Rufus up, how to pick himself up. How to solve this problem.

Rufus turned his head to him, and then back to Tifa.

"We don't treat them, you can't treat them," Tifa replied, almost sharply.

"Mako-infusions don't help, then?"

"They don't seem to work," Tifa shook her head and looked even more miserable. It had to be bothering her at least as much as them. "Not even with the toll," she added after several moments.

"Toll?" Tseng repeated, nearly starting up with the word. Rufus wasn't looking at him.

Tifa's eyes weren't on him, either. They were on Rufus. "Exhausting, sometimes fainting, sickness. Very strong headaches. Humans aren't meant to cast spells, you said so yourself, Shinra."

_Or bruises_, Tseng thought.

"And," Tifa paused again and Tseng braced himself for more bad news, "it seems to be getting worse every time they cast a spell. I don't know… I think – the doctors think it might kill them in the end."

The room fell silent, completely into eerie silence.

"I'm sorry," Tifa said after a while.

Rufus looked up. "Now, why would you be?"

"It's not fair, is it? That you can't help them." She looked at Rufus, looked sad.

Rufus seemed to answer her gaze, expression frozen. "You don't know that for sure."

"What are you going to do then?" She asked only carefully.

Rufus shrugged, it should have been off-handed, but Tseng knew him well enough to see that there was nothing off-handed about the movement, "Figure something out. There's always a way."

Tifa studied him, her features had smoothed. She gave a nod, smiled even a little, then nodded at him, "You should do something about that scratch on your cheek. It'll turn into a bruise, otherwise. Materia could help."

Rufus answered the smile although Tseng knew it had to cost him. And then, suddenly, they had all gotten up, Rufus flexing his shoulders back only for the doubt of a second and Tseng asked himself if Tifa, too, could see that his façade was as thin as paper.

"I thank you for sharing these information, Miss Lockheart. I'm sorry it was so unpleasant, though. May I invite you to stay for supper? It is late enough already."

Tifa shook her head at Rufus' invitation. "No, thank you. I'm…," she hesitated for a moment, "I'm already _engaged_ at Reeve's tonight."

Rufus answered with a small smile. A smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I'm sorry to hear that. But I hope you will allow us to escort you to your helicopter?"

"Certainly."

The way Rufus was eying Tifa when they left clearly showed his mistrust and discomfort. Neither did Tseng trust her. Perhaps Rufus' cynics had put her off a little, but Tseng was quite sure that Tifa knew that Rufus was infected. And, what made it worse, she had no reason on earth not to tell anyone. Moreover, there were even more reason she had to tell someone, after all Rufus had done before Meteor. And they couldn't just detain her or kill her or anything the like. There was no threat Tseng knew that could be spoken and yet, if the news came round that Rufus was infected… Shin-Ra was still lying low, yet, would be, for still a while. But if something happened to Rufus – if they got him, he would never forgive himself in his entire life.

_T__hose who have formed a pact with evil shall be found and put you into internal damnation._ Tseng shuddered as the words crossed his mind. Even if the murderers didn't know about him already, Rufus was still the heir of Shin-Ra which had caused the present misery. It wasn't good to be red-headed in a witch hunt atmosphere.

But after all he knew about Tifa, she perhaps wasn't the resentful type. Although she had always seemed to mistrust them so far, she had never shown any inclination to take revenge. Perhaps they were safe enough with her. At least, Tseng thought, she was one of least bad people to know.

The helicopter was still waiting when they stepped onto the roof of the building.

Tseng watched Tifa cross through the fierce wind. It had stopped raining, but she nearly disappeared into the twilight before she had reached the helicopter. He felt completely empty inside when the helicopter lifted off. What on Gaia could he do to protect his charge?

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_The next chapter is going to deal with Tifa again and how she sees the situation. I hope I'll be able to upload it anywhen soon, but I'm pretty busy at the moment, so it might take a while__._


	20. Fallen Angel

_I'm s__orry I kept you waiting like forever again. But now, I found all the notes I made for the story during all this time. I gathered them up and am determined to type them all together now._

_I am going to finish this story, even if I'll take a little time for it, because I just hate it if I happen to like a story and the author doesn't finish it^^. _

_Oh, in case someone has been wondering: haven't been able to purchase FF7 in the meantime, so, as always, don't own any of the characters and stuff._

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Chapter 20: Tifa: Fallen Angel, where's your saviour tonight?

Denzel was awake when Tifa returned. He was sitting in bed, arm bandaged against his side and was looking so very pale, still. His mouth wasn't more than a thin line and his eyes seemed hollow. Marlene was sitting on a chair, too high for her so her feet were dangling in the air. She was reading a story from a book to Denzel who had his eyes half closed but seemed to listen attentively. The scene was so beautiful and peaceful that it nearly broke Tifa's heart. She stopped in the doorways, tried not to be noticed and listened to Marlene's high voice reading from the book. But it didn't take long for the children to notice her. Marlene was the first to look up and when she stopped reading, Denzel turned his head, too.

"Hello, Tifa!" Marlene piped and jump from the chair, running towards her.

"Hello, Marlene, hello, Denzel! What are you reading there, Marlene?"

"She's reading 'The four Thieves of Cardamom'," Denzel explained. His voice was still a little weak.

"Wow! That's really nice of you, Marlene!"

The girl blushed. "Where were you, Tifa?"

The memory sent a chill down her spine. "At Shin-Ra's."

"Did you see Rude?"

Tifa smiled. "No, sadly not, I just met Tseng and Rufus Shinra."

"Mr Rufus, I think he carried me, didn't he?" Denzel asked, turned in the bed to face her.

Tifa nodded. "Yes…" In the same moment she realized that she wasn't feeling bad because it had been uncomfortable to be at Shin-Ra's (it surely had been, although they had been nice), but because she felt guilty. Quickly, she pushed that thought away.

"That was very nice of him," Denzel continued, earnestly.

Tifa felt a little jolt and smiled. "Yes. Yes, it was." There had been no reason why Rufus had needed to help. He could have left Denzel to her. Gaia, he hadn't even looked as if he was up to carrying the boy. He hadn't looked as if he could really make people hope.

"Are we going to have supper now?" Marlene asked. "I'm hungry. And so is Denzel"

"No, I'm not! I can still wait," Denzel protested.

"Don't lie! Your stomach was grumbling just now!"

"Yes, but I can wait!"

"Reeve said we will have supper when you come back," Marlene turned to Tifa.

Tifa smiled. "I'll call him, then."

"Can I leave bed?" Denzel asked.

"No!" The question almost shocked Tifa. "Not yet, Denzel. Your wounds have to close properly, first."

"But I don't want to eat on my own!" He nearly sounded as he was about the cry.

"Hush, Denzel, don't worry, we will not let you eat all alone."

"Are we going to eat here, then?" Marlene asked.

Tifa looked around her. The small room surely wasn't made for eating with its carpet and the small table and suddenly, she felt as if she couldn't face the problem. It was just minor, she told herself, nothing to worry about, there was surely an easy solution, but suddenly, the problem seemed like a mountain, unconquerable, with no way around it. She tried to straighten up, tried not to let it show, tried to smile brightly. "I'll ask Reeve, okay?"

"I don't wanna eat here! It's not a proper place to eat! I'm sure the Turks eat in great rooms and have those meals you can pick from a bar!"

"Marlene, please, I will talk to Reeve, okay? And if we are eating here, we will be eating here. We can't leave Denzel alone." She felt her throat tightening, fought down the dread, breathed deeply, but it wouldn't go away. For a moment, she just stood there, unable to arrive at a conclusion, but before she could even force herself to move, she heard the door of the small apartment open and only half a minute later, Reeve as standing in the doorway.

"I heard you were back, Tifa." He hadn't approved of her going. He had told her not to mention the healing materia.

"Hello, Reeve." She tried not to sound as tired and guilty as she felt. It had been alright to tell Shinra!

"Shall we have supper?" Reeve smiled at Denzel and Marlene, so very kindly that usually, it would have warmed Tifa's heart, and Marlene came closer, carrying the book still under her arm.

"Wow, did you read that book to Denzel?" Reeve was squatting down, winking at Tifa who forced a smile.

Marlene gave an enthusiastic nod. "Yes! – Tifa says we will eat here."

Reeve looked at Denzel. "Well, that's perhaps a good idea. It would be sad if Denzel had to eat all on his own, don't you think so?"

Denzel's face brightened up while Marlene gave a doubtful nod, "Yeah… sort of, yes…"

"I think we can have bread," Reeve turned to Tifa who forced herself to smile, not relieved although the problem had been solved. But there were so many things lingering in the shadows that now jumped at her that it didn't relieve her at all. "Why don't you read a little more to Denzel, Marlene, and Tifa and I prepare the bread?" Of course, they wouldn't. Reeve would order the bread from the kitchen. He only wanted to talk to her, but she wasn't sure she was up to it at the moment.

"We'll be in the kitchen, okay?" Reeve continued.

"I'll have one piece with salami and one with cheese, please!" Marlene said. "And I'd like to drink water."

"What about you, Denzel?"

The boy suddenly looked tired. "I don't know…"

"Come on, you like cheese, too, don't you?"

"Yes, I guess."

"Okay, then for you, one piece with cheese and another one with fish?"

Denzel nodded while Marlene climbed back onto the chair and put the book back onto her lap.

"We'll be in the kitchen," Reeve concluded and, without even realizing it, Tifa followed him.

In the kitchen, though, Reeve really started making bread. He smiled when she must have looked at him surprised. "I usually do it myself," he explained. "I don't like being served, and it leaves me time to think."

Tifa nodded and took a piece of bread, too. But lifting the knife seemed almost impossible.

"Did something go wrong at Shin-Ra's, Tifa?"

She shook her head.

"Are you sure? You look worried, you know?"

She tried to smile, tried to be strong. "It's alright, Reeve. Really. They were okay."

Reeve didn't look convinced when he looked up from the cheese he was cutting. "You can tell me, you know, Tifa. Don't worry to bother me. If I can help you, in any way, I am glad."

She smiled again, in total contrast to the roaring emptiness inside her. Sometimes, she just loved Reeve for being so caring. But she couldn't tell him about Rufus. There was no way she could tell anyone in good consciousness. No matter what he had done to the world. And if only he was trying to make up for it so much. Carefully, she cut the bread in half and put one half above the other.

"Tifa." Reeve had put down the knife, was looking at her, his voice so very caring, so much that suddenly, she felt so deeply reminded out Cloud that it hurt beyond everything else, and she felt tears rising, turned away.

"What is wrong, Tifa? Did they do anything?" Reeve had quickly rounded the table, had taken up her hands. His grip was firm, warm, and yet, all she could think about was that she hadn't seen Cloud in all those months and, despite everything Shinra had said, doubted that he was alive. And how, when Cloud should have been there, it had been Rufus who had carried Denzel to the helicopter. Gently, even.

She shook her head. "Nothing, they did nothing. They were… nice enough."

"But… what is wrong, then?"

Tifa tried to fight back the fear, the tears, everything, shook her head. "It's… nothing, Reeve, it's okay, I'm… I'm just tired."

For how on Gaia could she tell him that she felt so ultimately bad about what happened at Shin-Ra's? She had known it would be difficult for her to tell them, had hated them for having tell her, although they knew. She had thought they _knew_. It had filled her with so much contempt when she had realized that Tseng didn't know. But Rufus had apparently not known, either. The more she recalled their faces, the surer she was that it must have been Shinra's first White Geostigma attack today. She still remembered Denzel's fright, her own anguish, when they had realized what White Geostigma could do. She felt so very embarrassed, so very sickened by herself. She had tried to keep it from them that she knew about Rufus, too, but… doing that, she had flung it at them so uncaringly. She wasn't even sure they had bought it! Quite on the opposite, actually. And then, she felt so very sorry for Rufus, and what it meant for him, so frightened because she knew what it meant for Denzel. Rufus had helped her to save Denzel, for Gaia's sake! She couldn't have broken the news worse to them in any possible way, and she felt so guilty about it.

It wouldn't have mattered to her so very much if she hadn't started to esteem him and his Turks, like them perhaps, even. Rufus was nice if he wasn't lying or arrogant, which, most times, he really wasn't. She had to admit she admired his conduct this morning a lot. She wasn't sure she would have been able to stay that calm if she had had her first attack. She was so thankful for his words – his _kind_ words – after Denzel had been brought to hospital. Even if he wasn't kind, if he was arrogant, she enjoyed his wits, and the way he answered back to her – twisted, yes, but, well, polite, smart and resourceful.

Tseng, perhaps, she liked even better. Judging by the way he had looked at Rufus throughout the conversation or his behaviour this morning in Aeris' church, it was more than obvious that he cared deeply for his charge.

She felt so sorry for all she had said and most of all for how she had said it. How Rufus had questioned her and she had seen in his eyes that he was fighting down fear. It had struck her – still struck her – that it was the first real human emotion she had seen in him.

And yet, she couldn't but marvel at the way he had answered her question of what he was going to do. _There is always a way_. Perhaps, it was just silly. But she couldn't but marvel at the power behind the words. That he picked himself up the moment he had been struck down, ready to fight back. No wonder he was rebuilding Shin-Ra at such a speed.

She had thought him incapable of giving hope to other people, but, strangely, those words had woken something inside her.

Still, she shouldn't have told them. She shouldn't have even hinted it. Reeve had made very clear that he would appreciate it if she didn't tell them about the healing materia. And yet, she had. Reeve had trusted her and still, she had said it. Just because she had thought Rufus had a right to hope. Just because she had felt so sorry for a Shinra. And she still remembered his eyes, like blue diamantes, hard, cold, and yet hurt. The urge to share the pain.

"Tifa?" Reeve's voice got her back to reality, and to all the rest that was storming at her.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry, Reeve." She felt so guilty. "I… I just wish Cloud was here, you know?" She didn't even realize she had said that aloud and suddenly, the pain seemed to take over. "I wish I knew where he was! I wish I knew why he doesn't have his phone on anymore! I wish he would be here! I wish he would _help_."

"I'm sure he's alright, Tifa. Perhaps something happened in Kalm. Maybe he's got a flash back on his mako-disease. Maybe he just lost his mobile, who knows? He'll be there in good time. Don't worry."

"If he has a flashback, I should be there!" Tifa shook her head. "I'm afraid, Reeve! He can't just stay away that long, can he? Not with… not…" She felt a tear loosening from her eye and in the same moment Reeve's hands closing around her upper arms.

"Listen to me, Tifa: Look at me: Cloud is alright. You mustn't think something happened to him. That's impossible. You know it! Look at me, Tifa!"

Tifa had looked away, didn't want to cry, didn't want to show her distress, but now, on Reeve's words, she looked up, into his friendly eyes.

"I promise you Cloud is alright, okay? He. Is. Alright. He will be back. I'm sure. Okay?"

She nodded, shook her head, wished it was Cloud in front of her, saw blue eyes, the blond hair, tried to laugh. "I'm sorry, Reeve. It's… it's all a bit too much at the moment. Denzel, Cloud, the bar, Marlene… I don't know how to keep the bar… I'm barely at home to run it! I don't even know how to pay next month's liquor!" She laughed. "I mean, how can they do it? How can anyone shoot at a child? He just _saw_ something, he mightn't even have told!... and, this whole Geostigma-thing… it drives me crazy that… that they _kill_ them for it! What people say! He hasn't done anything to deserve something like that! I mean, what kind of life is that where you have to be afraid to be scared?" She laughed again, knew she was talking too much, wiped her eyes. "I don't even know how to pay Marlene even a little attention! She wants to become a Turk now…"

She heard her own voice trail off into the dark, had to sum up everything not to cry, felt Reeve's hands still on her arms and tried to recall how Cloud would have looked at her, his eyes. As if that helped anything. Gaia, she didn't even know if Cloud still _loved_ her. Surely, if he did, he wouldn't be gone that long, would he? But she would never say that aloud because than she would admit the thought.

"I can take care of Denzel, at least for a while," Reeve was just saying. "He likes it here. And… on the weekends, he can still be with you. At least, until we find a little solution for New Geostigma. I'm sure we'll find something soon. Don't worry about the bar. If you need help, I'll be always there to help. You wouldn't even need to pay me back. It's hard at the moment for you, I know, but I'm sure you will be fine. I'm sure Denzel will be fine and… Marlene still needs to get through puberty and there will be lots of boys around who aren't Turks, then. I'm sure she will become something very proper…."

Tifa nodded although she didn't agree with half of what Reeve was saying, and disengaged herself again. She knew the last sentence should have made her laugh, she knew she should be thankful for Reeve's offers, but she also knew that she would never be able to take Reeve's money. There was no way she could. She had managed in the slums all on her own, despite everything and times had been much worse. She wasn't, now that she had a wealthy friend, going to start and rely on his money to patch things up when she had messed up.

"Thank you, Reeve," she said and felt so very guilty about how much he was concerned and that she had told Shinra about the healing materia despite Reeve's more than clear comment. "I'm sure I will manage." She brushed over her eyes.

"Are you sad, Tifa?" The small, worried voice from the doorway made her jump, with shock and with shame, when she turned and noticed Marlene's small frame in the doorway. She was carrying a glass and coming into the room now.

"Don't worry, Marlene, Tifa's not really sad. Sometimes, you have to talk about things before they can make you sad," Reeve explained, readily.

But Marlene looked worried and she was looking at Tifa.

Tifa squatted down to meet her, smiled, although nothing inside her felt like smiling. "Reeve's right, Marlene. I'm okay. I'm just a little worried about Denzel and Cloud and you and everyone else. But that mustn't worry you. I'll find a good solution. There always is one, you know?"

Marlene nodded, but still looked a little worried. "You mustn't worry, too, Tifa. Denzel is okay and I'm okay, too, and we've both done our homework today, so we won't miss anything at school, so we don't have to repeat class. And… I know a solution for Cloud."

"You do?" Tifa was just baffled at that announcement.

"Yes." Marlene nodded enthusiastically. "Denzel and me talked it through. You can marry Reeve, so, then, Reeve will be our father and he can take care of us, and you can run the bar, and we can do lots of stuff together. And when Cloud comes back into town, he can be our father, too."

Tifa couldn't but laugh a little, surprised and completely baffled by the suggestions. "But… how should that work? I can't marry two men, Marlene." As if that was the only argument. She looked at Reeve, saw that he had turned a little red around the ears. "It's no problem," Marlene assured her. "Piniella's also got two fathers. One who lives with them and the other sometimes comes into town."

Tifa smiled, gave a sigh and stroke over Marlene's head, "It's a nice idea, Marlene, but… that's not how it works."

Marlene looked a little disappointed at that reply. "Why not?"

Tifa gave a sigh. "Marlene, please. Not now."

"O-kay." She took her glass and turned away to the sink to fill it.

Tifa stayed squatting on the floor, felt Reeve still standing behind her, turned, a little awkward, and smiled at him, apologetically. Marlene's suggestion must have been a little awkward to him, too.

"She is cute," Reeve replied her smile.

Tifa nodded. "Yes. Sure." She turned again. The suggestion itself, her reason told her, wasn't bad. Reeve was good with the children, he liked them. _They_ obviously liked him. Reeve would take good care of her, herself. He wouldn't just leave. He would always be there. He was a good person. Perhaps the best person she knew.

But that, of course, was what she reasoned. Not what she felt. And 'Reeve' hadn't been the name she had been thinking of first when Marlene had pronounced the first 'R' of the name.

When she got up from the parquet floor, she heard Reeve telling Marlene to take some of the bread with her. When she turned, it was the windows that stopped her from ending the motion. They were pointing into the direction where Shin-Ra HQ had to be lying. Some of these lights out there in the dark belonged to the Shin-Ra building, she thought. Perhaps Rufus was looking out now, too, into their direction. She turned fully around to Reeve, yet another uneasy feeling in her stomach. For although the eyes she had thought about during the last half an hour had been blue, it hadn't been Cloud's.

* * *

_Hoped you like the chapter so far. The next is going to be dealing with Rufus again and I think they'll get a lead on who's behind all these murders. I do hope I'll find time soon enough to type __things up._

_Thanks for reading once again and please: review ^^_


	21. The King Is Gone

_Ha! This time, I indeed managed to finish the chapter before the turn of the year! I hope you'll like it!

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_

Chapter 21: Rufus: The King is gone, but he's not forgotten

They say he didn't bleed or cry.

Rufus used to be proud of that. Not to bleed, not to cry. To know no pain and no feelings. He only wished it were true.

Tseng had followed him back from the helicopter deck, of course. He had offered no opinion, not a word, no consolation. Only when Rufus had turned to his office, Tseng had placed his hand onto his back for a short moment.

_I'll figure something out. __There always is a way_. What a nonsense!

Even in the faint light, the white spots on the back of his hand was obvious. The book he had tried to block out his thoughts with was lying next to his feet. It hadn't helped.

He knew he shouldn't have hoped. If he had been rational, if he hadn't hoped, it wouldn't have unbalanced him so much to hear that, yes, he _was_ going to die of New Geostigma after all.

Either because he burned himself to death or some punk from the street conducted his personal witch hunt.

If his body didn't kill him before that. It had been bruised everywhere around the white spots, not to mention the exhaustion he had felt. Bruises meant that tissue had been hurt or destroyed. Tifa was quite right to suppose that humans weren't meant to produce spells.

He had been so _bloody_ foolish to hope.

He didn't want to die.

There was so much he needed to proof, so much to do.

His hand dug deeper into his hair, until it nearly hurt.

He was just plainly afraid.

Afraid of the fear that was to come, the Turks' sympathy, afraid of death, but most afraid of what was resting in the back of his head. Exactly where he had his hand now.

He didn't ever want to feel that loss of control again. Panic, first, expected, known, and then, the fire that rose. Lightly, before, suddenly, it had turned into a maelstrom, burying everything, every other sensation dead but the one of raging fire, complete loss of control of mental power, nothing but fire that burned everything away, braking loose in the same moment. Painful, as if he was up there in Shin-Ra's tower again and the air around him ablaze.

The most horrible moment had been when he had fallen behind the flames, how they had taken over, no way to suppress them, no way to control them, how they had just taken possession of his body and torn him away. As if they were tearing part of himself away, as if they owned his body. And then, in the last moment, the fire had taken him up, and solvated his mind in flames so that for moments, he had just been gone.

He never wanted to feel that again. Everything else he had experienced he would be glad to face again. But not that.

Yet every time he rested his head it was back, vividly, and the more the fear grew, the more he felt the flames rising again.

He leaned his head against the knee, tried to close the eyes, tried to breathe calmly, to listen to his hammering heart, the cold sensation of evaporating water on his skin. Just like the materia Tseng had used to heal the bruises.

Yet another thing that scared him. It hadn't felt like materia had ever felt before. It had felt as if it the spell was sipping in through his wounds, connecting. With what, he didn't know. With what, he didn't even want to think about. Even the mere suggestion accelerated his heart again, filled his head with the stirring emptiness of fear and that accelerated the fire inside him again. Yet, he forced himself to think that, different from the spell, the healing materia hadn't felt bad. Her suggestion hadn't been bad.

_She_ knew.

His heart leaped, still cramping with fear. Tifa Lockheart – Tifa – knew. Yet another thing that frightened him. If it slipped her, if she just told it – he couldn't bear to think that anyone knew that he, too, was one of _them_. Lowly. Human materia which killed itself. _Pathetic_, without control. Not to mention that it would put his life in direct danger.

According to Elena, people in the street hated and despised New Geostigma patients. There was a wide spread opinion that they were sinners, marked by lifestream. According to Elena, that was exactly why they had been murdered.

He shuttered at the thought of the bodies, fear rising again. Witch-hunt-atmosphere, that's how Tseng had called it. Good to have ginger hair, then. Oh, and a red eye.

Would Tifa talk?

He still recalled the way she had studied him, her sympathy which had struck him completely unaware. Her presence of mind today in the church, how she looked at him there, that mixture of contempt and amusement when she talked back. Her desperation when waiting in front of the emergency room, her determination to save her son, the way she spoke to him. The way she dressed, as if she couldn't effort more cloth, the heavy boots that didn't fit the skirt. The way she called him 'Shinra', as if it was a mocking name, sometimes an insult. The way she moved, the way he could so easily anger her. The way she squared her shoulders. The empathy that had persuaded her to tell them about the healing materia. The way she had lightened up after he had said there was a solution to New Geostigma. The way she always said she mistrusted him but then believed him.

That he hoped they would quickly progress with the investigations so he could see her again.

He felt his heart hammering, the fear lingering below, he opened the eyes again. He was definitely thinking too much on the wrong topics.

He leaned back, rested his head on the pillow and stared at the ceiling, heart hammering with the rising fear. If he didn't think about the fear now, if he just let it linger there at the back of his head, and carefully closed his eyes, he would perhaps be able to fall asleep.

Maybe thinking about how he would never persuade Tifa to like him – not to mention give up Cloud – would help.

My, he was so _pathetic_.

The morning was grey and cold again, the sky leaden. When the hatches to the helicopter opened, the icy wind rushed into it quickly. Rufus got out, straightened up and looked around him before he set into motion, Elena falling in behind him. He was tired, he hadn't caught much sleep throughout the night. But this wasn't a day to be tired. He squared his shoulders, knew it was weak not to have slept most of the night. Just because of some silly problems. His father had had nothing left for loser. _L_. The doors to the building opened automatically and they were welcomed by one of Reeve's managers, a fact Rufus didn't appreciate very much but which was necessary, of course.

The doors of the elevator closed. Elena remained silent. She performed well. Still, Rufus missed Tseng's reassuring calmness at his shoulder. But Elena was smaller than him, she always tended to look a little awkward. She would certainly give the right impression. And a lot depended upon the right impression today. Today, Shin-Ra would make its first official appearance to the public ever since Meteor.

How much they had achieved already since then!

How much he had lost.

Rufus studied his image in the mirroring walls. At least, he didn't look tired as he felt. In fact, there wasn't a hint of the worries that had kept him up all night, or of the lack of sleep. He looked every inch he wanted to look. His hair was lying close to the skull, the few strands falling, as if by accident, into his face. The scratch had disappeared from his face, even the contact in his eye was undetectable.

His white suit was immaculate, white alternating with black. He had left the jacket open, as if careless, same as the white shirt was hanging loosely over his trousers. Casual, but not too casual to look professional. He wasn't wearing his gloves; his right hand was barely covered by a bandage to hide the white spot.

He tilted his head slightly upwards, adjusted his expression to be smug but yet not too arrogant, looked at himself.

_Loser_, he thought. _You get a company from your father, you spoilt brat, and take it down within months. And even that wasn't your achievement. It's been three years now and Shin-Ra is still groping around. You've done nothing so far and now, you're just feeling sorry for yourself. You aren't any better than all those other high society brats._

Elena was studying their image, too, smiling a little at him when she caught his eye.

_They trust you. You'd better not fail this time._

The doors opened with a decent 'beep' and as if the world still belong to him, he stepped from the elevator, was directed by yet another of Reeve's employees to the conference room and when he entered, Elena close behind him, everyone turned.

For a short moment, only, Rufus stopped in the doorway, finding Reeve after a quick look around and set into motion. As he crossed the room, he knew everybody was watching, knew that once again, he was the most important person when he accepted Reeve's hand. That they feared him for something that wasn't his.

"Rufus, good to see you."

Rufus gave a smug smile, tried to banish what ever negative thoughts were still swirling through his brain. "Good to see you, too, Reeve." It cost him a lot of pride to accept Reeve's hand and words instead of receiving them. But it would be worth that pride.

"Why don't you take a seat? We are about to get started," Reeve continued.

Rufus inclined his head a little, this time receiving the words. A look around told him that he had achieved exactly what he had intended to achieve. This weren't the people who hated Shin-Ra for what had happened and were frightened that Shin-Ra might pursue that route further. These people thought of Shin-Ra more as a threat to their carefully built up businesses. And now, they would think that Shin-Ra was in a good relationship with WRO while still being WRO's junior partner and fully accepting that position. For all they could know, Shin-Ra wasn't more than a very small company, just coming back to its feet. It didn't suit Rufus at all to create that impression, but it was true that, at the moment, WRO was still far more powerful than what he had scratched together of Shin-Ra. He still had to guide all those small companies he had bought or set up in secret and it would be a while until the time had come to unite them all in Shin-Ra. Until then, he couldn't have any of them look at Shin-Ra more closely and perhaps notice something. So, he would have them think that while he was eager to keep Shin-Ra in the upper league, he could be satisfied with titles. Just like any other high society brat.

Rufus drew the chair back and sat down, aware of all the looks on him, and looking around himself. All the bigger companies relevant for the area around Midgar were present. Fuel companies (a few), companies for renewable energy sources (a lot of which he basically owned but doubted they knew), Midgar's Fontainebleau (who was nominally head of a business building generators and lamps, and had sadly brought his daughter) and Fontainebleau's manager (who really ran the company and just needed an important name), Edge's new water-provider (another of Midgar's old nobility who made use of his dubious connections to ex slum dwellers), several other smaller companies (easy to buy up when the time came), and, of course WRO (which he funded directly). It could have been worse.

Reeve started the conference with a speech and after a while introduced the plan to rebuild great parts of Midgar. While the other companies joined the conversation vividly, Rufus mostly listened. When asked, he assured that he was only providing land and some logistics to make life worthwhile again in Midgar, as he saw it as his duty to make up for what Shin-Ra had done to the planet. It was too early to let them know that he had ambitions. He just needed them to commit themselves to Reeve's plan.

As Reeve presented the project, they bought that Shin-Ra was only involved to 'make up', barely more than an associate. Most of them bought it entirely and were pretty relieved by that news, as it seemed. When the conference ended, they thought they were important, most were even enthusiastic about the new plans. Of course they would help, they had assured. They were glad to be asked and taken seriously and they thought it a good idea to improve living conditions in Edge and provide more jobs. They were glad for the great projects and most of them hadn't hesitated a second to 'join forces' and provide their signature.

Rufus had planned to make his appearance as short as possible – he certainly didn't care for more than the small talk with Reeve which was inevitable in any case, and if only to cement the created impression. The others, he didn't want to talk to. He rather preferred to single them out, one by one. Corner them.

But when he was about to leave and had nodded already to Elena, he was intercepted by Isolde Fountainebleau.

"Rufus!" Her voice pierced him and he turned around with a smile he tried not to make contemptuous. She was supposed to be her father's heir and she hadn't paid the least attention. Not that her old man had, but at least, her old man had tried to feign it. The dress she was wearing was underlining her (borrowed) wealth too much, the diamantes around her neck might have been in perfect resonance to her hairstyle and earrings, but were completely out of place for the occasion.

"Miss Fontainebleau," he nodded his head, about to turn. She had always been supposed to be the most beautiful girl in all Midgar. But she wouldn't have stood a chance against Tifa Lockheart and Rufus wasn't about to call Tifa Lockheart beautiful.

"Oh, come on, Rufus! Don't be so formal! It must have been years!" She didn't get his hint and stepped right into his way.

"Seven, now, would you excuse…"

She interrupted him in the midsentence: "Seven? Indeed! It's been too long! You were just a lad when you left! We were so sorry you had to go!"

"I'm sure you were." He made no effort to hide the sarcasm, and rather looked for a way to pass her. But people were standing packed as if everyone in this room was trying to block his way out.

She laughed, moving a little more into his way. "Oh, you're still as charming as ever! – Were you also as bored? Gaia, I nearly fell asleep."

"Indeed? I wouldn't have noticed."

"Really? Oh, I always used to be a good actress!"

So, sarcasm was clearly wasted on her. There was a small gap forming in front of him.

"… you know, you didn't say! I had hoped _soooo_ much you would mention it! I really find the idea great! You could have them build it a spa just like in ancient times! You know, with all…"

The gap had closed again before Rufus could move, and he cursed inwardly, turning back to the young woman in front of him.

"But here I am, babbling away again and barely leaving you time to say a _word_! I'm sure we will have lots of time to talk at the party next week Sunday – you will be my _special_ guest, you know! And you really _need_ to tell me about your journey round the world!" She laughed her silly girl-laugh again, leaned closer and lowered her voice while Rufus willed himself not to move backwards and knock over the people behind him: "there'll be something very secret to talk about."

Just before she could secretively place her hand on his shoulder, Elena's hand slipped forward and stopped the movement. "Please keep your distance, Ma'me."

Isolde started at her, then at Rufus who willed himself to keep the smirk from his face and discreetly slip his hand from his jacket.

Then, Isolde jerked her hand free, "Let got, you bitch! How dare you even touch me?" She looked back at Rufus. "I hope you'll fire her for that!"

She drove around and stalked away, and Rufus led out a long breath, turning to Elena, "Let's leave before stupidity turns out to be contagious."

Passing, he gave Reeve a short nod, exchanged a few words with two or three others who dared to talk to him and was more than happy when the door to the elevator closed behind them.

He caught Elena's image in the mirror and gave her a nod, "Thank you, Elena."

Elena smiled shyly. "I didn't want you to shoot her, Sir."

He gave a soft laugh. "Good thinking."

Elena blushed. She seemed to do that an awful lot, especially when Tseng was around. Then again, she was very attached to his head-Turk as Rufus was sure everyone knew. But his head-Turk, of course.

"Now, that was rather short but painful, wasn't it?"

Elena blushed again. "I… I didn't really pay attention, Sir. Not… not to what was _said_."

Rufus smirked. "That wouldn't be what I pay you for, anyway."

Elena nodded, then looked at him. "Tseng always pays attention."

"Tseng is a little more than _just_ head of the Turks."

In the same moment, the elevator gave a 'beep' and released them onto the upper level of Reeve's building which offered a splendid view over Edge if it wasn't raining cats and dogs like it was now.

Elena looked at the cascades of rain that were hammering against the windows while Rufus was calculating if that was enough rain to soak them through before they reached the helicopter. He came to the conclusion it was.

"I think we should wait another moment, Shachou," Elena announced in the same moment.

"That sounds reasonable."

Sheets of water were running down the window as he stepped closer, placing one hand against the cold glass. It would be better to come up with a topic for conversation. Otherwise, he would only think about what was lingering in the back of his mind, only just fought down. Up here, the rest of the town nearly disappeared in the low hanging clouds. Apart from the water and the rain, there wasn't much to see. Grey in grey with scraps of the grey town in between.

"Uh, Shachou," Elena started in the same moment and Rufus had to smirk. She was surely communicative, Elena. "About that invitation…"

"I don't socialize." Rufus replied, his smirk fading in the same moment. _That_ was definitely a topic he wouldn't talk about. No, he surely wouldn't ever socialize with them again. Their hollow and meaningless lives, their barely hidden contempt for his birth and the way they still suck up disgusted him.

"Uhm… that was not what I had in mind, Sir… I'm sorry. I… ." Elena fell silent in the mid-sentence.

"Yes, Elena?" He thought of Isolde Fontainebleau and thanked himself that he had been smart enough to try and get his father killed before he could keep certain promises. Otherwise, by now…

"I… I mean, I was wondering, if you don't like them, why do they still invite you? I mean, it can't be the first invitation you aren't going to accept and… uhm… you shirked them pretty much when you became president and…" Her voice trailed off again.

Rufus studied her reflection in the window. She seemed to be surprised at her own bluntness, but he was surprised how little he minded it. "I'm of consequence, aren't I?" he replied after a moment. Money he had, President Shinra's son he was, a man who had ruled the world and thus forced his way into their acknowledgement.

Elena nodded, seemed to blush again. "Yes, of course, Sir."

For a moment, they fell silent. The rain was still hammering against the windows, making it almost impossible to look through. He could barely see the helicopter port.

"Only, _they_ aren't of any consequence anymore. They still fancy they are, though." Was he indeed still? He looked at his mirror image. WRO was of consequence. He was just another business partner for Reeve. One with a lot of money, but Shin-Ra surely wasn't anything close to big anymore, even if he acted a lot smaller than they were. At the moment, Shin-Ra was just an association of shattered businesses, all bought up and held together by himself. He would have to be very careful not to be the one who had been used in the end and he hated that idea. _Loser_, he thought with bitter anger, staring at his half-reflection in the window.

"Perhaps they will be again," Elena offered.

Rufus shook his head. "I doubt it. Their ancestors built up their businesses, they used to live on what money they could still milk from their companies. But they lost their monopole now, and they know nothing about business and don't care. All _they_ know and care about is _consequence_. They don't even notice how they are burning up their money."

Elena seemed a little taken aback and Rufus realized that perhaps, he had let a little too much of his contempt show in his words.

"That's sad," she said at last. Perhaps she remembered all those glamour magazines. It was a strange notion to think that she, a Turk, should have read them, too.

Rufus shrugged. "That's life." He had never really understood how somebody's life could be filled just with party and fashion all day long. In his opinion, they had had it coming and if he could help it, he would have nothing to do with their extravagant world of wasting money and resources. Or the shallow people that inhabited it. His father had bought his way into their good-will and cooperation. If it had been him, he would have bought their businesses and disposed of them if they hadn't been of any further use. Which he doubted they would have been; they knew nothing about work.

At the other end of the room, a door opened and closed again, but he didn't bother to turn.

"Hi, Tifa." Elena's greeting made Rufus turn around, his heart suddenly a lot quicker. He hadn't realized he had actually hoped to meet Tifa and, pathetically, he envied Elena for using Tifa's first name.

"Good afternoon, Miss Lockheart."

"Hi Elena, hello, Shinra." Tifa had stopped. "Is the conference over already?"

Rufus gave a short nod. "I hope Denzel is improving?" He still remembered how the boy had clung to his jacket, how small he had been, those terrified eyes, and didn't quite get why that all was a reason to really _care_ about that brat. Yet, he had wondered several times how the boy was improving.

But Tifa smiled and perhaps, that made the question worth it. She gave a half nod. "Yes, a little. Not as much as I hoped, but… he's up and he's relatively well and that's all that counts." She studied them and didn't look quite so happy.

"Now, he was shot twice and they left him to bleed to death, you know? It's not only physical." He was surprised by his own reply. Why on earth would he want to cheer her up? She was strong enough and the last one she'd want sympathy from was him, she had made that quite clear. And why would he offer his sympathy to someone like _her_? Just because he had been forced to save her brat?

Still, she smiled back when she replied, "Yes… Sure." But her smile was worn and suddenly, he realized that it was perhaps that worn smile that had made him utter these words and that made her so alluring. So, he was almost on his knees himself and felt inclined to someone just because she was fighting not to crack up herself? Right. Brilliant.

"So, you are waiting for…?" Tifa broke the silence again.

Rufus nodded outside. "For the rain to stop."

"Oh, I see. You don't want to get wet, right?" Tifa smiled a little at that.

"Right." He studied her. Again, she was wearing a little too little for the weather. She didn't look as if she had chosen her clothes carefully in any way. Yet another thing he couldn't understand. Why she still looked good.

"Why're you waiting here, then? Don't they want you below?"

Rufus smirked. "The pause in the rain was a little shorter than expected." But 'rain' brought him to quite another conclusion, for suddenly, he remembered that Isolde Fontainebleau had babbled something about his plans to build a spa. Only, he was pretty sure Reeve hadn't told anyone and Tifa Lockheart surely didn't know upper-class people. "By the way, Miss Lockheart, do you happen to be in any kind of contact with the upper class?"

Tifa suddenly glared at him before she answered, slowly and deliberately, "I had a _bar_, Shinra. Quite a _good running one_ before either you or your bloody father dropped the plate."

Her tone suggested very much that 'having contacts to the upper class' must have had _that_ negative connotation in the slums, and that he shouldn't press any further on that matter, but it also made very clear that even if she had had contacts to the upper class, she surely wasn't using them anymore.

"My father," Rufus replied. "I wouldn't have dropped the plate." That was even more pathetic. That he had known better than his father and still, the company had gone down before he could proof any of that.

Tifa didn't reply to that which perhaps was better that way. Her hair was almost black in this light.

"Is Reeve on talking terms with them?"

"I don't think so, but business, of course. Why are you asking?"

"I was just wondering," Rufus shrugged. It was perhaps a good idea to encourage Tifa to find out, though, "Denzel said the people he surprised questioned him, and that he had replied he had expected them to be my people who were building a spa. – Someone just asked me about the spa."

Tifa looked at him, a little stunned. "Oh…" And after a moment, she continued. "But… you don't expect them to…"

Rufus gave a soft laugh, "_Them_? I should be very much surprised. All I'm saying is that if neither you nor Reeve told them, they must know from another source."

Elena had been looking from one to another so far, but suddenly intervened: "If you were to go to that party, you could find out, Shachou."

Tifa gave Elena a puzzled look, "What party?"

"A high society party," Rufus replied, liking the look on her face. "That sort of thing which all those flock to who fancies themselves important, and have too much of their hollow chit-chat."

"The woman who invited Shachou was the one who talked about the spa. It would be a _perfect_ opportunity to find out," Elena added.

Rufus gave another scornful laugh. "Don't forget you aren't of consequence, Elena. They won't even _talk_ to you. And I couldn't care less to make myself amiable to them. If you want to have them talk to you, have the police arrest them. For speeding or whatever."

Tifa seemed a little surprised at his reaction, at least, she looked a little taken aback. "Aren't those people your _friends_, Shinra?"

Rufus sneered. "Now, _birth_ or _income_ certainly make bad selection criteria for friends, don't you agree?"

Tifa halted a little at this reply and then suddenly looked at him with some kind of a smile that made his heart beat faster, "You know, Shinra, why we all go down and drink a cup of tea until the rain stops? There's a little bar in this building. It'll be a lot more comfortable to argue there. And you can tell me a little more about the case."

The look with which she was fixing him, the smile, her words, it took him so completely aback that for a moment, he felt nothing but his heart hammering and his breath catching in his throat. He hoped he had caught himself quick enough when he shrugged, his brain still somewhat empty and all but wanting to leave. "There isn't much more on the case so far. We don't know, yet, where the drain ends."

It was still raining cats and dogs, he could still except her invitation, even if there was too much to do. But… he couldn't let her guess. Only, this invitation, he supposed, was clearly making his day. If Tifa asked them to join her for tea, she couldn't mistrust him that much anymore. Or perhaps he had just managed to say the right thing to her for once.

Tifa shrugged. "Suit yourself."

"There's really nothing much to tell," Elena supported him, oblivious. "I think Shachou and Tseng-san told you basically everything yesterday and today, well, it hasn't been twenty-four hours, yet."

Rufus didn't add anything, nor did Tifa ask further.

"So, you're going back to your HQ now?"

Rufus gave a smug smile and gave a short nod. So, Tifa did actually possess a skill to make polite conversation. "There's still more than enough work that needs to be taken care of."

Tifa grinned a little, mischievously. "So, you don't just sit around and enjoy all the evil your employees are causing?"

"No, actually, it's quite a lot of work to make people miserable," Rufus replied, sarcastically. "Different from running a bar, obviously."

Tifa frowned at that, definitely more than Rufus had expected. She seemed even angry, but didn't snap back, although her entire face darkened. Perhaps she was too much aware that she might have given a similar insult.

"Is Denzel awake all day already?" Rufus asked after another moment to chance the topic again, watching the rain outside. If he wasn't mistaking, it was decreasing. He hoped he was mistaking.

Tifa looked at him, a bit estranged, mastered her expression in the same moment. "Sure."

"So… He'll be up and about soon again?"

"Not any when soon, I fear." Tifa looked worried, suddenly. "I mean, his leg is fine, but… it seems that the White Geostigma lingers around the wounds. It hurts him very much to move it."

Rufus nodded. "Oh, I'm sorry to hear that."

"But Reeve suggested a wheel chair." She gave him a half teasing half dark look. "I guess you're an expert on that."

"I guess the rain is decreasing," was his reply. He wasn't much in the mood to make _that_ a topic of conversation and disappointed. It seemed that if he didn't find a way to vex her, she found a way to vex him.

Tifa looked outside, too, got his hint, for she replied with a short, "Looks like it."

"I'd better leave, then." He inclined his head a little towards Tifa, didn't want to part.

She nodded. "Tell me if you got something new."

"Of course. I hope Denzel gets well soon."

Tifa smiled. "Thanks."

He gave her a short smile, too, before he turned towards the helicopter port.

"Hey, Shinra?"

He had hoped she would call and turned back. "Yes?"

"They have phones nowadays. Would be got if you called us before you set into action."

He smirked. "Whatever you say, Miss Lockheart." He turned and than turned back again. "Have a nice day."

She replied his smirk. "Yes, you too."

It was still raining more than could be appropriate, but they made it to the helicopter without getting too wet and after a few moments, Reeve's building was disappearing in the misty day.

Perhaps, Tifa was even watching. But why on earth would she? Only because he was overdosed on dopamine? He should really be a little more impartial about her. After all, she knew about his illness. But although he still _feared_ she could, much to his surprise, he actually trusted her that she wouldn't tell anyone about his illness.

* * *

_For now, this is it. The chapter next week (hopefully) will be dealing with Tseng who gets a cold and a worsen situation downtown._

_As always: please tell me what you liked/didn't like or if I made huge mistakes._


	22. Crime In The City

_Please enjoy.

* * *

_

Chapter 22: Tseng: Crime in the City

Bad news, Tseng thought, leaning against the frame of the door. Nothing but bad news. The rain was dully running down the windows and he had just gotten Elena's text message that she and Rufus would wait a while until the rain had ceased a little before they would take the helicopter home.

It didn't suit Tseng at all. Ever since the early morning, the handkerchief Tifa had produced had been on his mind and the stitchery on its hem. He had first thought it had been flowers, but looking at it on a computer had convinced him more and more that it weren't actually flowers but fountains of water. And while water might have not been of any significance, fountains of waters were. For, as far as he knew, there were only two persons in all Midgar Edge who would claim that symbol – and had the money and vanity to have such handkerchiefs made.

The first was Ennio Scipione, new water-provider of Midgar Edge, who was the nephew of the second, Cornelius Fontainebleau. The first because of his new profession, the latter because of his name. But both had been present at today's meeting. If they were in any way related to the murder incidents, there was no way Tseng wanted Rufus anywhere near them. It wasn't like Elena was inadequate protection; she was surely good, but Rufus was impetuous. Tseng sighed. If he had been there, he would have hurried Rufus through the rain to the helicopter. Although it was raining tremendously.

Not that Rufus would have listened very much. At least not without protesting heavily beforehand. He was _so_ smart in business matters, strategies, theories and who knew what else, so, why, then, was he so reckless with his life? Why didn't he mind to put himself in line? Why did he _want_ to put himself in line?

Tseng stilled damned himself for giving in to Rufus to go to the church again and investigate matters. It would have been fully adequate to send some Turks. Reno and Rude would have done a good job, he was sure. But Rufus had been so damn stubborn, so bloody logical in his line of argumentation that he, Tseng, had finally given in. Because he had been quite sure that actually nothing could happen with all the police around the church.

And then, that man had attacked Rufus out of the blue, Rufus had had this Geostigma-attack or whatever it was – he hadn't talked about it – and now, Tifa Lockheart knew that Rufus was infected, too.

If only he had trusted his instincts!

The rain seemed to decrease outside.

Rufus and his forever on-going line of argumentation. Who did he think he had to proof anything to with his silly stunts?

Tseng felt his throat itching and turned away from the window as his mobile gave a short buzz. Elena informed him that they were on their way back home and he let out a sigh, sitting back behind his table.

The work was mounting in front of him. He looked at the first file and sighed again. Just another complain from the military department; they wanted more funds; they were used to more money from old Shinra. Well, guess what, new Shinra won't give you any. Things have changed.

Tseng closed the file again, leaned back. The itching in his throat was increasing. He took his mug, sipped a little of the cold tea. When, actually, had he agreed to become more than just head of the Turks?

_Never_.

He took the file up again, studied it. It was too late now to complain. For maybe one and a half hour, he worked, diligently as always. But his thoughts wouldn't leave him alone.

He didn't have much of an idea how to protect Rufus from getting scared. In essence, it was easy enough; Rufus was no scaredy-cat, so all he had to do was to make sure that Rufus didn't get into any life-threatening situations. Which, basically, had been his job so far. Still, the very idea of Rufus being able to produce spells out of nowhere made him uneasy, not to mention the way Rufus had looked like after their conversation with Tifa. Or that the murderers had found out about Vice-Mayor Eliot's New Geostigma although he hadn't told anyone, that they had managed to sneak into his apartment, despite all the security, and just killed him off.

Tseng shuddered and reached out for his mug again, his throat was dry with anxiety. It would be alright, he told himself. They had dealt with geostigma and geostigma had been lethal, New Geostigma wasn't. At least not directly and as long as one didn't produce spells. They had dealt with Kadaj, with Sephrioth, had survived Deep Ground… he wouldn't fail to protect Rufus now. Never.

The mug was empty. Tseng gave another sigh. For a moment, he still argued with himself, then, he got up. He hadn't been concentrating, anyway. He took his mug and the tea-pot and set off in the direction of the common room while his anxiety followed him. There was no way they could find out, he told himself.

Actually, he thought when he entered the common room, there was every way in the world. Tifa had found out, too, and Rufus was _so_ unthinking! Tseng stopped in the doorway, felt his heart hammering. If only she kept her mouth shut!

He crossed the room, quickly filled the electric kettle with water and turned it on. He had increased the security everywhere and still, he didn't feel safe. As if they could leak in through the walls and just get Rufus out! The idea of what they would do to Rufus if they got him filled Tseng with fear.

He turned away from the kettle, tried to get his thoughts off the matter and suddenly realized that the room was already occupied. Almost entirely hidden to anyone who entered, Elena was sitting on the couch. Or rather, she must have been sitting to begin with, but she seemed to have fallen asleep.

Tseng turned around fully, leaned to the counter while the kettle behind him started to heat up the water. Never before had he seen Elena that unguarded, that relaxed… that beautiful. Her hair was slightly falling into her face, her lips were a little parted for breath, some of the hairs moved in it. She had dragged her feet under her body, at least half way, looked only half comfortable and yet, Tseng couldn't remember to have ever seen her wearing such a relaxed expression. It was such a contrast to all the anxiousness he felt and for a moment, he tried to forget all the other problems, tried to believe that everything would be alright and let the peacefulness engulf him.

The water next to him slowly started boiling, grew louder and louder, Tseng reached out to silence the kettle but in the same moment, Elena was already moving, turned, blinked a little, reached out for her eyes, rubbed them with one hand and looked around herself with quite a sleepy expression, although the moment her eyes fell on Tseng, she jumped.

"Tseng-san…," she mumbled sleepily but the way she said it in was so soft that Tseng couldn't but feel appealed.

"I'm sorry I've woken you," he replied and wasn't. The first gaze he had received had been so free of worry and so very tender that he still felt it inside. He realized he was smiling.

"I'm sorry... I… I must have fallen asleep!" Elena quickly sat up. "I… I will be back to work immediately!"

"Do stay seated." Tseng filled the water into the tea pot. He would need to wait a while for it to cool before he could put the leaves in.

"It's… I usually don't do it, I assure you… I just haven't slept well the last nights."

Tseng felt a little pang of guilt and steered towards the couch. "The moon?" he asked in what he hoped was a tender voice. But he wasn't good at being tender, he knew, especially when he felt something like unease himself.

Elena stared at him and he could clearly see shock and guilt, perhaps, in her eyes when he sat down. There was fright. The same fright he sometimes felt when the moon shone too brightly into his room. As if the remnants could just materialize themselves from moonlight shadows.

"It makes me uneasy, too," he continued a matter-of-factly, but inside, he felt his heart hammering.

Elena nearly jumped from the couch at his words and it was all too evident that it frightened Elena, and Tseng felt as guilty as the first time he had noticed she still suffered. It was his job to make his Turks feel well… especially Elena whom he had dragged into that business so carelessly. Elena who always acted so strong. Elena, without whom he perhaps wouldn't have made it through those horrible nights, too. That they would make it wouldn't have sounded half as convincing if he had told it only to himself. If there hadn't been her who had listened, tried to believe him. Tseng felt guilty that she still should suffer from those events.

"It… it does?" Elena mouthed, couldn't seem to produce the words.

"It's the light," Tseng said.

Elena shuddered, nodded and Tseng knew exactly that this ghostly wood was passing through her mind. "Yes," she nodded. "The light." She shuddered again. "I… I can't keep it out. I mean…" She hesitated a little, looked at him, her eyes were dark, contrasted by her light hair. "It shouldn't be that way, should it?"

Tseng made an ambiguous gesture. "Nothing much is the way it should be, these days."

Elena seemed not to know what to reply to it.

"Shin-Ra shouldn't be down, there shouldn't be New Geostigma, there shouldn't ever have been the other one. Rufus shouldn't be infected. By all rights, he should be dead. _I_ should be dead. All those people, they shouldn't have been murdered just because they were infected. We shouldn't be too weak to grant their safety. So, what does it matter if the moonlight is tainted to you?" It was what he always told himself.

"But… I'm a _Turk_! I can't be afraid of anything!"

Tseng just looked at her. Her brown eyes were bright with zeal, forcing their way into his. How could she still be so full of zeal after all that had happened? After all what had been revealed about Shin-Ra, about the Turks, about everything she must have ever lived for. Just like Aeris who, no matter what happened to her, had still been happy. "I think it would be stupid not to fear anything. And perhaps your duties won't involve walking in moonlight. I wouldn't send someone who is uncomfortable with heights to climb a tree and neither would Rufus."

Elena blushed, just a little taint around her ears, barely noticeable. She did it a lot, Tseng couldn't have come around noticing. It was the decent way in which she did it, how easily and just how little she blushed, that he liked.

He couldn't look at her forever, he thought, although he would have liked to study her eyes just a while longer. The water was surely cold enough now. He got up. "Do you close the blinds?"

He could almost hear her nod behind his back. How strange that she who talked so much chose those moments he couldn't see her to reply voicelessly. How strange he still knew she was. How strange he had forgotten how beautiful her eyes were. But the last time he had looked into them, they had been tainted with moonlight and pain. He felt the pot, his heart accelerating. Perhaps there was too much he locked up inside him with the light.

"D… Do you?" She asked and sounded as if she was surprised she had dared to.

Tseng looked into the hot water, saw his image only half reflected, lowered the sieve with the leaves in it into the liquid. His throat was burning for liquid already. "It doesn't help."

Elena seemed surprised by that reply. "Don't they close tightly enough? You should talk to the janitors… I can talk to the janitors!"

The yellowish colour of the tea spread through the pot, weakly only. "There's no need to talk to the janitors. I am usually here, anyway."

"Here?" Elena echoed, surprised. "But this room has to be full of…"

"Yes." Perhaps he was a masochist. But this was the room Rufus came to if _he_ couldn't sleep. "I don't like rooms without light… and Rufus is sometimes here, too."

"Oh?" Elena made and sounded a little reluctant. "Does he, too…?"

"No..." Tseng looked into the water. It would be a while until the tea was ready. Elena's voice had been strange. As if she feared that Rufus could steal something that only they shared, but tender in the same moment. Tseng remembered how she had placed the cool cloth on his forehead after Vincent had rescued them. The night, the fireflies. "Like you said; there are people who can't sleep when it's full moon."

She had been so tender then, so caring, although so hurt herself. He couldn't believe he had buried these memories, too.

"And… uhm… what … I mean…?"

Tseng had to smile. Elena was always so clumsy with her questions. "Talk." If he didn't turn, he could still see her sitting at the edge of the spring, hurt, yes, but her skin like alabaster in the moonlight. The way she had smiled at him. _We are alive, Tseng. We are alive._

Elena didn't reply anything, Tseng couldn't even hear a movement from her and it stayed silent for so long that, in the end, he turned around. Elena was still sitting on the couch, had placed her chin on her knees and was hugging them, staring onto the table, the blond hair was falling into her face. It took him a moment to realize that she was fighting back tears. That one was shimmering on her cheek. Maybe she had even cried the entire time they had been talking.

For more than just a moment, Tseng felt inclined to walk over and brush those tears away. He even set into walking over to her, but then stopped himself. It would be more than inappropriate. He was her superior. No matter what he felt, he couldn't touch or comfort her. It would be highly unprofessional. Besides, he couldn't guarantee it wouldn't trigger him off, too.

So, he reached out another mug, filled it with tea and slowly walked over to the table. He carefully placed the mug onto the table and searched for Elena's eyes, pushed the mug over when he got them, clinging to the table. There were few things that had cost him so much self-control as not to round the table now and put an arm around her.

"It's over, Elena. They'll never come back." He tried to fix her with his eyes, tried to say it with as much tenderness as he could muster while he knew that what he said was useless.

Still, Elena nodded, brushed her eyes. "I'm sorry, Tseng-san," she said in a low voice.

He smiled. A few hairs were still clinging to her cheeks, she wasn't really looking at him, her ears were slightly red. She was blushing again. "Don't be."

She answered his smile, reached out for the mug and for a short moment, when he withdrew his fingers, hers brushed his and it felt like electricity.

"Thank you," she mumbled and raised the mug to her mouth and Tseng couldn't take his eyes off her.

.

"…_in the early hours of today morning, the Power-Plant East caught fire and burned down to the ground, leaving nearly all eastern outskirts without electricity. While the source of the fire couldn't yet be determined, it seems likely that the fire claimed several casualties. According to locals the plant was used by White Geostigma infected as an illegal place of housing. The police is currently investigating the matter, but after the plundering of several food storages in west Midgar Edge, to many locals, the authorities just don't seem to be doing enough, is that right, Jim?" _

"_Absolutely, Angela. I'm here in e__ast Midgar Edge and behind me, you see the ruins of what was once the biggest power plant in this area. While there have been few power blackouts during the winter, the lack in power is now strongly felt. Only the hospitals can claim power all day long. Here next to me is Brian Summer, chief of the local community. Brian, you just told me that you and your community are not going to take it any longer. What exactly are you planning to do…?"_

"Rufus are you listening? This is serious," Tseng tried to call through the stream of abuse Brian Summer was launching at the New Geostigma infected. Although the journalist tried to interrupt him, the man continued his abuses until he was cut short when the studio ended the broadcast.

"I haven't stopped hearing about it all day long," Rufus answered dispassionately over the boiling water from the other end of the room. "I've already been in a long conversation with Reeve, and by today evening, they'll have their – _our_ – electricity back, whether they like it or not. I ordered to power up our new plant and redirect some of the electricity flow to here."

"I mean: have you listened to what this chief just said?" Tseng repeated although his throat was nearly killing him. He had woken with a very bad cold this morning which he hoped wouldn't turn into an actual illness. But the numbness he felt inside him pointed directly towards that. "He blames the New Geostigma infected."

Rufus gave a bored sneer and took up the kettle, "Now, that was to be expected, wasn't it?"

Tseng held Rufus' gaze. The cynic undertone in Rufus' voice didn't suit him very much.

"Winter's too long, last summer has been bad, food is getting too expensive, housing is short, paradise hasn't ensued after Meteor, clearly, _someone_ has to be responsible." Rufus put the spoon he had been using for the honey into his mouth which interrupted him for a while. "A lot of them are worse off than before Meteor," he continued after putting the spoon into the sink. "People's minds are simple, Tseng; they need someone to blame. And if there's no one better off it's always easiest to blame those who are different from the rest. Colour, hair, opinion, religion, white spots, whatever."

Again, Tseng made no reply. He hated it when Rufus was that contemptuous for he was pretty sure that this was very close to what Rufus actually thought about other humans.

"I do agree with you, however," Rufus went on and was coming from the kitchen now. "This _is_ serious. If they carry on like this, we will sooner or later find ourselves in a situation where they cheer the murders. Or worse. Especially when the prices for food continue to mount." He placed the two mugs he had been carrying onto the table. "If only I still owned the news… or just had the police force under my command. They are way too slow. – They can't be that slow, can they, Tseng?"

Suddenly, Rufus was looking very worried and Tseng gave a sigh, "We don't know how many in their ranks are disloyal or think like the public."

"Exactly… here, this is supposed to help against colds, I've heard." Rufus pushed one mug towards him and Tseng smiled. "Thank you."

"I wonder you go ill, though, and not I." Rufus slowly blew the vapour off the liquid. He still looked bothered.

"Materia." Tseng carefully took a sip of the liquid. It was still a little too hot, but it felt good in the throat. He studied Rufus. His friend looked tired, worried, worn, and Tseng knew that he must have had difficulties sleeping.

"How are you, Rufus?"

Rufus looked at him, blew into the vapour again. "Well enough, I expect. It's not like it's going to kill me. At least not straight away. So, I'll just have to deal with it. Whatever."

He sounded forced saying that and somehow, Tseng felt guilty that he couldn't think of a way to help.

"I'm just not much looking forward to Sunday nights," Rufus continued as if his words needed an explanation, only, this explanation made them worse for, to Tseng, it clearly pointed out that Rufus was a little more worried about Eliot's murder than he had seemed so far. Which worried him even more. For, if Rufus managed to be concerned about his own security, the situation had to be pretty threatening indeed. Sunday night, by default, was when the next murder was scheduled.

"I won't let them harm you, Rufus, I promise."

Rufus smirked a little. "I know." He fell silent for a moment and sipped at his mug. "Do you suppose they have something to do with it?"

"Who?" Tseng asked, looking up from his mug, too.

"Those high-society brats."

Tseng blinked. "Let's wait to see where the pipelines end, shan't we? – Or do you suppose they have something to do with it?" He was still hoping they hadn't.

Rufus shrugged again. "Well, if they _do_ it's perhaps the best possible outcome."

"How so?" Tseng could think of at least four other outcomes that were better than a bunch of people who were still very popular with most of the police forces, still had their connections and lived in highly protected castles.

"They like to brag. Especially to someone like me." His smirk broadened.

"Rufus, you are not thinking of following Elena's suggestion, are you?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. It could be fun. To attend that horrible party, extract a confession from, let's say, _Isolde_, and sack them afterwards. Plus, they'd never suspect _me_."

Tseng frowned. "Why wouldn't they?"

"I'm my father's son, am I not? And they did love my old man. He practically _bought_ their love. They owe _everything_ to Shin-Ra. And I made it possible for them to continue their hedonistic way of life after they had burned up all their money. – My, you should have _seen_ that Fontainebleau brat yesterday, Tseng!"

Tseng frowned again. He had heard Elena's report and from it he drew that this Isolde had literally thrown herself at Rufus. Knowing Rufus, the girl had been fried as much as rhetoric would allow. "I really am not sure whether this is a good idea, Rufus. Those murders are so full of hate. That's something completely different than murder for money or out of fear. They could easily turn against you once they find out you're infected."

Rufus looked at him, his face suddenly serene. "First at all, I am not planning to _let_ anyone find out. Secondly – for those people, social status and money is everything. I could be the Sephiroth, I could be planning to slaughter everyone on this planet, as long as I have the money and the right name, they'll love me."

"They killed Vice Mayor Eliot, too," Tseng objected and sipped at his mug again. The rich sweetness mingled with the intense sourness spread on his tongue again.

Rufus shook his head. "Eliot didn't have enough money and he originated from the slums. He's one of Reeve's people, not one of them."

Tseng hesitated a moment. Rufus certainly knew more about the High Society than he did, having moved in those spheres before he had been locked away in Junon. Tseng had only heard gossip about them, had seen them from a distance on one or two missions and read a few files, nothing of which had made them very likeable to him. But this gossip also hadn't sounded as if they were a bunch of murderers. "I cordially hope you are right, Rufus. Still, I do hope it's not them." And if only because he knew that if it was them, Rufus would somehow manage to convince him of that silly scheme of his.

Rufus gave a laugh. "If it _were_ them, at least I'd be safe. And, maybe, we'd even have the chance get them before they find out that that brat of Tifa's is alive."

Tseng tried to smile at him. If it hadn't been for the worry in Rufus' words, his smile would have been sincere. He had come around to notice that Rufus seemed to like the kid. And, more so, the mother. But the worry in Rufus' voice made him uneasy. It was his job to keep Rufus from worrying about his own life, after all. He didn't want Rufus to end up like that, would pay with his life if he had to. But most of all, he didn't want him to be that worried. "Don't worry, Rufus, whoever is behind this, I promise I won't let them harm you. Whoever this is, we'll find a solution to all of this."

"Now, you almost sound as silly as I did, to Tifa," Rufus replied sounding bored and somewhat contemptuous. But much of it was drowned anyway in the next sip he took from his mug. Still, the words struck Tseng.

"Rufus, there is no reason why you shouldn't…"

"Tseng, why are you always worrying about other people?" Rufus place his mug on the table, looked at him with a little wryly. "Me? Elena? The Turks? Shouldn't you worry a little about yourself, too?"

Tseng didn't reply, felt caught completely off-balanced for a moment.

"Who do you think you have to proof something to? Me? Verdot? Don't do that. It's not good for Shin-Ra if you go to pieces over other people. They are certainly not worth it." Rufus paused, looked at him, took another sip from his mug, and Tseng had no idea what was hitting him, too surprised to react. It was more than rare for Rufus to show that much concern. He must have really been in a bad state or a nuisance if Rufus put it that bluntly, and he somehow felt guilty about it. Shin-Ra, same as for Rufus, was his life. Only that for Rufus, it was leading Shin-Ra and for him, it was keeping its boss and the Turks up.

"Thank you," he replied. "I'll do my best, Shachou."

Rufus gave a sigh and seemed about to add something when in the same moment, there was a hasty knock on the door and in the same moment, Tseng felt his heart accelerating as Elena stood in the room, so completely out of breath that for a moment, Tseng feared she would just collapse.

"Yes, Elena?" Rufus had turned to the female Turk but Elena needed several moments to catch enough breath to talk again. Her cheeks were flushed when she started gasping: "We know where the water is going!"

* * *

_Thank you for reading! The next chapter is going to be about Reeve again, but of course, Rufus and Tifa will make an appearance, too. They'll be deciding on how to proceed next._

_Please tell me what you think.  
_


	23. Good To See You

_Thought I'd prepare this chapter so you can read it if my day runs well. Day ran badly, but I decided to post it anyway because, even on a bad day, there's got to be something good._

_Yes, I know I'm not making any sense.

* * *

_

Chapter 23: Reeve: Good to See You

Reeve was very much surprised to find Tifa and the children watching the helicopter approach when he arrived, waiting for it to land. Marlene was holding on to one of Tifa's hands while Denzel was sitting in the small wheel chair they had gotten for him, his injured leg strapped up.

For a moment, Reeve stopped in his tracks while dirt and water were propelled noisily against the windows. Ever since Marlene had suggested that he and Tifa should marry, Reeve had felt a little awkward around Tifa. She had opposed Marlene's suggestions so vehemently but then, there was the way she had looked at him afterwards. But of course, there was no way in the world. After all, whatever he felt, she was still his friend's girlfriend and there was no way on earth that he, Reeve Tuesti, would ever change that. No, he was happy with just being able to help her. If she knew more, she would be even less unwilling to stay.

So, he tried not to look too much at her if he could, tried not to help her too much, and hoped that she hadn't seen that he had been left completely speechless by Marlene's childish suggestion.

Tifa turned around to him as the dark bird with Shin-Ra's emblem on it heavily approached the building.

"What are you doing here already?" Reeve asked surprised, and smiled at Denzel and Marlene. Denzel was watching the helicopter with keen eyes while Marlene darted only a short look at him, before she continued starring mesmerized onto the helicopter, too.

Tifa turned around to him and answered the smile. "We saw the helicopter approaching and Denzel and Marlene wanted to see it land."

"And meet Shin-Ra again!" Marlene added, looking at Reeve now. "Do you think there'll be Turks in that helicopter?"

Reeve smiled at her. "I'm quite certain there will be."

"Do you also think Rude will be there?"

Reeve shook his head as the helicopter slowly lowered itself into landing, like a heavy bird. "I'm sorry, Marlene, but I don't think so." Rufus would have Tseng with him again. The two seemed almost inseparable.

The helicopter had as good as touched down; he better hurried if he wanted to welcome Rufus which he wasn't sure he wanted but which was appropriate.

"Will you meet up with us in the conference room?" Reeve asked on turning from the windows to the corridor.

Tifa turned back to him, had stared at the platform already again. "Yes, of course." She seemed to be in a surprisingly good mood.

Reeve gave a short nod. The helicopter had landed now and he hurried down the corridor towards the platform, but hurried not enough not to wonder about the way Tifa, too, had been staring out at the helicopter. After everything she had said so far, she and Shin-Ra clearly didn't mix. Even if they had saved Denzel. Which Reeve regretted deeply. He still felt responsible that Denzel had gone off on his own, that he hadn't been around to protect the boy from what had happened to Denzel afterwards. It shouldn't have been Shin-Ra. It should have been him.

Quickly, he stepped through the doors onto the walk towards the platform, greeting the workers with a short nod. The wind that welcomed him was fierce and there was nothing to be felt in the air that suggested that spring had long started, whatever sun was there was obscured by the clouds. The air was filled with an icy spray.

The rotators of the helicopter were slowly coming to a halt, the deafening sound of the machine had stopped and now, the hatch to the helicopter opened. The first pair of boots to leave the helicopter clearly didn't belong to Shin-Ra's head-Turk, though; Rude gave a quick look around before, nearly simultaneously, the second pair of boots hit the concrete next to him, water splattering away underneath them, not less military-like, but belonging to Rufus who flicked his hair and looked around, shielding his eyes against the pale sun.

Reeve crossed the platform to meet Rufus and his Turks, for Reno was just climbing from the cockpit to step up next to his boss.

"Good afternoon, Rufus!" Reeve pointed his hand towards Rufus who replied the gesture and Reeve felt a short pang of aversion when his fingers touched the fingerless leather gloves Rufus was wearing. He hated forceful death, he hated military and he hated the idea of violence with which Rufus tended to surround himself.

"Reeve. I'm glad I could make it."

"Where's Tseng today?" The two Turks at Rufus' shoulder were looking around them serenely, that was, as serene as Reno could be.

"Tseng is ill." The wind nearly tore Rufus' reply away, over the rim of the platform after which it was a 60-story drop strait to the wet pavement in front of WRO. It was quickly getting very cold.

"Nothing serious, I hope?" They set back into motion towards the building that loomed several stories high above them into the leaden sky. It looked as if it was about to rain again.

Rufus hinted a headshake as they entered the building. "Just a cold. – I hope Denzel is improving, though. And that Miss Lockheart didn't catch the same cold; Tseng seems to have picked it up in the ch…." Rufus stopped dead in his words as they surrounded the corner and were suddenly standing on the observation deck, and Reeve jumped, too. He had expected that Tifa and the children would leave immediately and not _wait_.

Tifa, too, had stopped in her movement and was staring at them. No, Reeve realized. Not at them. At _Rufus_.

"I… I didn't realize you were going to take this way," she said and Reeve felt her eyes only for a moment on him before they darted back to Rufus. She was _smiling_.

Marlene was beaming over her entire face, though. "Ruuuude!"

"Never mind," Rufus said and overtook Reeve, shortening the distance to Tifa and Denzel. "Good day, Miss Lockheart. Hello, Denzel. Are you improving?"

Reeve felt somehow swept over. Marlene had disengaged herself from Tifa and was coming at Rude and Reno now, the tone in which Rufus had asked Denzel was too friendly to be just his usual icy politeness.

"Thank you, Mr Rufus! I'm much better!" Denzel replied, eagerly and not at all scared. He was even _beaming_ up at Rufus. "And… um… thank you for saving my life. Tifa says you saved my life?"

What Rufus replied but a far too friendly laugh, Reeve didn't quite get as he tried to catch Tifa's eye over the situation. But Tifa was looking at Rufus, too, not disapproving of Rufus talking to Denzel but _smiling_. And that smile gave Reeve an unexpected pang. Since when did she like Rufus? The answer came too readily: Since he, Reeve, had failed to protect Denzel.

Behind him, Marlene was telling Rude eagerly that they were going to leave for home again this afternoon – something he, Reeve, hadn't even talked through with Tifa.

"My, that's a nice wheel chair you've gotten yourself there, I'm sure it's much better than staying in bed all the time, isn't it?" Rufus and his damn talent for people, Reeve thought.

"Yeah," Denzel agreed eagerly but yawned again. He had been worryingly tired ever since he had woken. "It's really, really cool; I couldn't even _eat_ with the others before!"

Tifa was still looking at Rufus and behind him Reno was teasing Marlene about something.

"Ehm…," Reeve cleared his throat, rather helplessly, and tried not to sound as if he cared as less for Shin-Ra as he presently did. He had wanted to add something but didn't know what to say without sounding like a complete arse.

But it seemed that Rufus caught him or at least wasn't as interested as he acted in Denzel, for he ruffled the boy's hair a bit and then he turned back to Reeve. "Get better soon, then." And Reeve couldn't but notice noticed that Denzel, although trying to get rid of the hand, seemed to like having his hair ruffled by Rufus.

Reeve set them in motion quickly. It should have been him, Reeve, who had save Denzel. Not Rufus. Not a man who had in all earnest tried to kill his own father, and in that course had gotten Reeve-knew-not-how-many people killed, without caring. Tifa should be looking at _him_ in such a way, not at Rufus.

"Shouldn't Denzel be better?" Rufus asked as soon as the doors to the elevator closed behind them.

Reeve gave him a short look, tried to keep his face smooth. "What do you mean?" Of course, he knew what Rufus was talking about and it worried him deeply; the last spell Denzel had cast had exhausted the boy's body extremely and until now, Denzel hadn't recovered from it. Reeve had started to fear that, same as with other White Geostigma patients, it could be permanent.

There was an expression on Rufus' face that could almost past as worried. "Well, he was treated with materia, wasn't he? He shouldn't be or look that tired."

"He's improving well enough," Reeve replied and tried not to sound as harsh as he would have liked to sound. It wasn't Rufus' fault, after all. Perhaps, he was just trying to be nice. Maybe, he really cared for the boy. Still, he had no right to intrude into his, Reeve's, life and _play_ with everything that was dear to him.

Reeve opened the door to the small room he had chosen for them to occupy; a view over the city, obscured in rain-loaded clouds, cosy, but still impersonal.

"Enter, please."

Rufus followed his gesture, giving a short nod at his Turks who, much to Reeve's surprise, stayed outside.

"Take a seat, please," Reeve pointed at the comfortable armchairs around the small glass table. He was pretty proud of this room, liked its atmosphere very much. Different from any room he had been in at Shin-Ra, this room did completely without anything that related it to WRO.

"Thank you." Rufus lowered himself onto one of the seats. Back to the wall, view over Edge. And the door, Reeve noticed. "Anyway, I hope you are doing something about the boy's obedience. Otherwise, he's going to get himself killed very soon."

Reeve turned, angrily. Such words, utter by Rufus of all men. "What do _you_ know about obedience, Rufus Shinra?"

Rufus didn't reply to that, and Reeve was in no mood to make polite conversation although he knew that Rufus above all was expecting it. The day hadn't been so bad until Shin-Ra had arrived and he already regretted that he had lashed out at Rufus. He hadn't even thought himself capable of such words or such directness.

"How much have you found out so far on the cases?" Rufus started after a while, this time more business-like.

Reeve turned from the window, decided to follow that trail of conversation. Why couldn't Tseng be here? He liked the Turk a lot more than his master, "Not so very much. We tried to get hold of someone from the nobility, but they neither want to talk to us nor do they want to leave their houses."

Rufus shrugged. "I would have been surprised if they had wanted to; they don't like to mingle with ordinary people. Besides, it really shouldn't be difficult to get into their houses."

Reeve frowned. "No. I'm not using military force."

"You might have to."

"You might have to what?" Tifa was suddenly standing in the doorway and Reeve almost jumped around. By the smug smile on Rufus' face he must have seen her approach, and Reeve would have loved to wipe that smirk from his face, the way he was studying her. As if Rufus had any clue how beautiful she was!

"Use military force to get into the nobility's houses. At least if our suspicions are true which I expect they are," Rufus replied her.

Tifa was leaning against the doorframe, and Reeve liked that suspicious frown on her face. "What suspicions? I thought you had results?"

Rufus gave a short nod, looking at both of them while he continued. "We do have results. We know now where the water supply ends and I would like to coordinate all further steps with WRO." He gave a nod into Reeve's direction.

"Ah?" Tifa produced, interested, and lowered herself onto one of the chairs.

"It terminates somewhere close to the Fontainebleau's property. However, before my Turks could determine where exactly, it was destroyed," Rufus continued. "It might be a good idea to ask some questions there."

"What? – I thought you said they had nothing to do with it, Shinra!"

"Pardon?" Reeve couldn't comprehend what he was hearing. The Fontainebleaus were arrogant, they were bad in business, they had big mouths, but he was sure they were _harmless_.

Rufus shrugged, "I thought so, too, in the beginning. They are spoilt heedless and bored, but I believe therein lies the problem; it's not the same thing as 'stupid'. Most of them have brains; they only prefer not to use them. But now, the world has gone down, they have lost their income and most of their so-called amusements. All they gained is boredom. So, they make up for it."

"That's nonsense," Reeve interfered. Something was suddenly dawning to him, and he felt angry, powerless in the face of Rufus. "You just need a reason to sack their land and their businesses, Rufus."

"No, I don't," Rufus smirked, flicked his hair. "I already own their land and their businesses. What do you think they've been living on these few months, Reeve?"

"Well, it's still nonsense. How much ever you dislike them – they aren't murderers! What has been done to the victims was gruesome – Who ever is behind it clearly _believes_ that they are cleaning the world! And just because the water supply ends somewhere _close_ to there doesn't mean it has to be them."

Rufus shrugged. "There aren't many other people living there but them. And the handkerchief Tifa found is stitched with a water-monogram; I thus suggest that we investigate the matter further."

"But you'd still need military force to get onto their lands," Tifa pointed out. She didn't look as if she wasn't buying Rufus' suspicion. She was studying him closely.

"I think Elena suggest some somewhat more peaceful means: Next Sunday night, Isolde Fontainebleau is giving a ball. I suggest that we attend. Perhaps the water is pumped to some kind of basin. If it's underground, we'll have to search a little more, but that shouldn't be much of a problem, either. At least not for the Turks. We can start with taking a sample of the water there, just so you know I'm not framing them. Then, we can gather evidence. Ask some harmless questions. Reeve, you can send one of your men as one of my bodyguards, so you'll be sure I don't pull a trick on you. At least," he smirked again, "until your sensors haven't confirmed _our_ results."

Reeve flinched a little. He had hoped Shin-Ra wouldn't find out about the position systems he had had his people place in the spring.

"I'll come, too." Tifa crossed her arms in front of her chest, an icy look on her face. "Those bastards tried to kill Denzel, after all!"

"I don't think they've invited Reeve. And you _clearly_ can't go as my bodyguard, with our history," Rufus replied dryly.

"I totally agree! That's crazy, Tifa!"

"I wouldn't want to _be_ his bodyguard – even if you asked me to, Shinra." Tifa had given Reeve only a short look, her eyes were on Rufus immediately again who held her gaze, smugly.

"So, I expect you will be my date, then?"

Tifa frowned and Reeve could see her holding Rufus gaze. He didn't like the calmness in her face nor the way her eyes were suddenly a lot brighter, her cheeks redder, the way she shrugged that wasn't at all off-handed. "Not date. But female company should be alright. – That is, if _Tseng_ will let you go." She _winked_.

Rufus sneered. "You don't think I would make any propositions if I didn't have my Turks in line already, do you?"

"Actually, I do." She grinned a little.

"You think too much, Miss Lockheart." Rufus turned back to Reeve. "Any objections? Any of your staff you'd like to send to protect Tifa? To watch my steps?"

"I can do without a bodyguard, thanks, Shinra."

"I think Tifa will be fine," Reeve produced slowly. He didn't like it. It wasn't like he didn't believe him. He was quite sure Rufus was telling the truth and the water emerged where he said it did. What he didn't like was how Rufus and Tifa seemed to agree all of a sudden.

Rufus gave a crisp nod. "Good. Then, we need to agree on how to proceed if I – we – find out that they are really related to the murders. Or if they aren't how to proceed with the others."

"Hand them over to the law, of course," Tifa answered as quickly as the sound allowed.

"They have to be put to justice, that's what people want, that's what they expect," Reeve agreed. "Even if we arrest them, the police has to do the rest!"

"Or what would you want, Shinra?" Tifa was looking at Rufus again who shrugged, and Reeve didn't like that shrug. "I would want to do exactly as you said. Only, I would make sure that the court they are convicted by is a court that is decent in every respect. People need to know that the law applies to everyone equally." He smirked. "People need to know there's _right_ and there is _wrong_ in this world. And that justice isn't the mob's opinion."

Reeve couldn't but agree with Rufus' words. Only, that didn't mean he liked them. Not with Rufus. Of course, the young president was perfectly right. If this new world should function, people needed to know that they were protected by law and that the city they were living in granted this law and that in front of the law, everyone was equal. But he still remembered how Tifa had told him that Rufus had said he wanted 'to rule the world with fear'. If he still harboured that plan… Depending on how strongly they emphasized justice, people wouldn't feel protected by it, they would fear it.

Tifa at least seemed to like what Rufus had said for she nodded in agreement, relieved, as it seemed, smiling, even. "Exactly!"

"I would suggest keeping any suspects with the police until the crime is solved," Reeve added.

Rufus nodded. "That is certainly good for the public opinion. Just make sure it's not the wrong people who protect them. I'll have the Turks send you the files. We've got quite a bit of information on that sector."

Reeve gave him a stern look. "It's not about the public opinion; this is about dividing power, Rufus. My organisation is rebuilding this planet. We don't interfere with any politic or juristic decisions. We don't control the police or tell them what they are supposed to do." _And we don't keep anyone under surveillance._

"I'm sure that's the right attitude."

Reeve frowned at the younger man. He was never quite sure, but sometimes, it felt to him that Rufus hadn't changed that much. That, perhaps, he had adapted, but not changed. The idea scared him, and not just slightly. For most times, what Rufus said was reasonable and smart and Reeve couldn't but agree with it.

Tifa gave a stern nod. "I think it sounds good. First, we get in there, find out who's behind all this, and then, we'll hand them over to the police and they will be convicted by a decent court! In the meantime, however, we could look if we find some other evidences."

Rufus smirked and nodded and Reeve couldn't find anything that was wrong with the entire plan. Which bothered him excessively.

* * *

_I hope you liked this chapter. The next one, as if you haven't guessed already, is going to be about the party. There will be a dance and Rufus is going to make a __dangerous mistake; Chapter 24: Tonight's the Night._

_Please review ^^._


	24. Tonight's The Night

_So, now, at last, we are all going to attend to a party. Sadly, the chapter got a little out of hand, so I had to split it into two. I'm not quite finished with looking through the second half, yet, but hope I'll be able to post it by tomorrow__ or perhaps even by today evening._

_Please enjoy.

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_

Chapter 24: Rufus: Tonight's the Night

Rufus looked out through the window. The sun was sinking flaming red behind the rolling hills, now bloody-green when years before, they had still been desert land. The rays of the sun shattered on the rain that was running down the panels, painting everything inside the car into a gory red. The shadows of running water danced on the faces as if they were droplets of blood. Rain was hammering onto the roof of the car and then, the sun light, cold, flickered like the light from a stethoscope when they drove along the fence that surrounded the Fontainebleau's mansion, short intervals that seemed to revive the corpses for a short moment. Tseng was looking at him, calm coal eyes in his ivory face. The shadow of a red droplet ran over his face.

Then, a dark cloud covered the sun entirely, the hammering rain on the roof of the car increased and a gust of wind rattled along the sides. The sun died behind the clouds and in front of them, the mansions of the Fontainebleaus rose into the sky, the ugliest fairy-tale palace in Roman style Rufus had ever seen.

It was completely silent in the car. Tifa, next to him, was staring out at the mansion.

If he could have helped it, he wouldn't be here. But life never left real choices; the plant he had wanted to power up hadn't been entirely finished due to the bad weather in the last few weeks, so its power-output had only been minimal. Not enough to supply all the power that was needed downtown to substitute the burned down power-station. Thus, with no power to cool food, food priced had soared sky-high. There had been plundering and looting already, the murder of yet another New Geostigma-patient on Sunday had only worked as a catalyst. At the moment, Midgar Edge was facing serious riots; there had been several more deaths of people who had been infected with New Geostigma, food stores had been plundered, there had been violent demonstrations. And it would be several days, still, before the Shin-Ra power-station would be able to supply enough energy. Worst of all, someone was heating the situation up by spreading rumours to that effect that the New Geostigma patients had formed a pact with Sephiroth and were trying to finish what Shin-Ra hadn't manage; kill everyone and destroy the planet.

These rumours also circulated within the police forces and it hadn't been difficult to find out that they mostly originated from officers who had close connections to the nobility. They were spreading like an ugly illness through the roads; quarters that were still well supplied with power and food were simmering.

It was a ticking time bomb downtown and Rufus wasn't sure that, if not enough New Geostigma patients could be found, people wouldn't turn against Shin-Ra again.

So, something had to be done. And the best thing to calm the masses was always to find somebody who was responsible for all the misery they were in. As there wasn't a country around to attack, the smartest thing they could do was to turn the tables and arrest those who were responsible for the murders and certainly also for the rumours. They then could be blamed for causing the situation so that the people would feel better and quiet down a little. At least for as long as it took to supply the necessary food and electricity to make them happy.

By now, Rufus had no doubt that the nobility was behind all this and although he doubted very much that they would do anything to him, he would have preferred to storm their mansions and lock them away. But while every suspicion pointed in their direction, they yet needed an actual proof. In old times, it would have been no problem to storm, but nowadays, Reeve was responsible of the police forces and he refused to act without solid proves.

So, the plan was that they would mingle a little with the people, do hollow chit-chat, watch them getting drunk, sneak around the house to find the spring and, in his case, acting stupid long enough until someone piped out who was performing the murders. Straight forward and simple. Infiltrate, exfiltrate, storm before the ticking time bomb downtown could blow up.

Tseng had worked through almost everything that was filed on the nobility and he had taken greatest care to coordinate things with Reeve and the police forces so that, if necessary, the mansion could be stormed and secured within ten minutes. Rufus knew that his bodyguard was by no means as sure as he was that his old friends wouldn't lay hand on him.

The car drove through the huge gate and towards the big mansion at the end of the broad avenue that lingered behind the gusts of rain like a heavy bird, too fat to fly.

He smiled at Tifa who was sitting next to him. "I think we are almost there."

Tifa smiled back and it made him feel a little warmer; the smile had been warm. He hadn't expected it, but she was looking remarkably beautiful. She was almost modestly clothed in a dress in Wutain style and Rufus asked himself if perhaps, she had chosen this type of dress by intend (only dress that came close to a mini-skirt) or if Reeve had helped her to choose. It was something, Rufus thought, that Reeve would advice a girl to wear. Not that he minded, she certainly looked beautiful in it and he was thankful that she wasn't trying to outdo anyone with it. For she could wear whatever she wanted, the nobility would despise her for coming and him for accepting her as his company. Isolde – and most of the others – would most certainly be very displeased that he had brought her, but that couldn't be helped.

"You can say all you want, Shinra, but I don't think that building looks good," she said with a certain frown on her face.

"How comes?" Rufus made ironically, following her gaze.

Tifa moved her head uncertainly. "It's far too big and – I think there are too many details. It's worse than your old tower!"

"I agree."

Tifa looked surprise. "Do you?"

The car stopped.

"Yes, certainly." He waited until the door was opened by the servants. "They think this is style. In my opinion, this is nothing but a display of decadence." He nodded at Tseng and Tseng gave a short nod back. The rain was still hammering on the roof, maybe worse than before. It was almost dark outside by now and great floodlights were illuminating the soaking façade of the mansion. Then, he set himself in motion to get out of the car, putting on a mask he had hoped not to wear again.

He pushed himself into the cold air of the night, under the roof that barely shielded from the rain, felt the chill coming through his suit, sipping in through his fingerless gloves. He was wearing them because they, too, were yet another insult. And because he wasn't stupid enough to display his white spots somewhere were the New-Geostigma-killers might linger. Even if he was sure the nobility wouldn't even dream of doing anything to him; one didn't need to push one's luck.

"Rufus!" A high voice tore the air, sent a shiver down his spine and in the same moment he saw the shadow of Isolde running towards him. "You came! I'm so glad! – Here, take my arm!" She pointed her elbow at him.

"Isolde, how nice of you to welcome us in this nasty weather! I'm sorry, though," he continued with uttermost but hidden satisfaction, "but I am in company." He turned towards the door to offer Tifa his hand as was appropriate.

"Oh, come on, _Rufus_!" Isolde laughed and seized his elbow as if he was one of her closest friends which under normal circumstances would have brought all his Turks to point a gun at her, including himself. "You _can't_ be in company! I'd know if you were, you know?" She winked as if she were smart and Rufus felt disgusted, detangled his arm and place his hand in front of Tifa's face.

"You are mistaking, Isolde. I am very much in company." In the same moment, Tifa touched his hand and the touch was like electricity. She looked up at him as he guided her out of the car and then, she smiled. Just a little bit, but it was a sincere smile and it nearly too his breath, her eyes so very beautiful. She couldn't be compared to Isolde, not by a long chalk. She wore no opulent jewellery, barely any make up and the way she moved in that dress had rather the grace of someone who would knock hell out of you if you dared to come too close than that of a fragile elf. Isolde, on the other hand, was the spitting image of everything that was found beautiful in these circles. Her face, apart from the reddened cheeks, was alabaster, her voice was soft and girlish and by years of training she moved with such graced that it seemed as if she was gliding. Her dress couldn't have been more becoming and the jewellery was excellently chosen. Only her eyes wanted that strange alluring fire that sparkled in Tifa's. But there was no doubt that he would have chosen Tifa a thousand times over Isolde. She was everything that was real and Isolde, in her entire beauty, seemed as faked as the materia that was sold nowadays, a fact she proved herself the moment she laid eyes on Tifa. Her face turned into an ugly mask in the same moment, anger flaring high behind her eyes, stubborn anger. Then, the emotion changed over disgust when she studied Tifa back to an engaging smile when she turned back to Rufus who couldn't but smirk. It was so obvious what she had been thinking that it almost made him sick.

"Rufus! You really can't call that company! I appreciate your thoughtfulness! Of course, after seven years, just to call upon one of the girls could be seen as inappropriate! Oh, what a gentleman you are! But you needn't have to choose a _Turk_! Come, I'll offer you my arm for tonight! After all, we _are_ good friends!"

Rufus had to control his face hard not to show any of the disgust he felt at her behaviour. "Please, Isolde, I'm sure there are other guests waiting to be welcomed by you, too. Now, please, let me attend to my company appropriately." It was a pity he had to be polite, but he didn't want her to sulk before she had spit out everything she knew.

Isolde stared at him, then, in her vanity, she laughed and put her hand onto his shoulder. "Oh, _Rufus_! You really shouldn't take people so seriously when they say times have _changed_! Times are still much the same here! Well, go ahead, be a gentleman, but" – she winked – "we'll talk later on, won't we? I have something very _secret_."

She turned to the next guests and Rufus felt very relieved. Tseng and Elena were already standing behind them and Tseng looked mildly displeased. Elena's expression was that of open astonishment and repugnance. With a smirk at her and letting out a long breath, he turned to Tifa: "I would excuse her behaviour if I could find an adequate excuse. I do hope you do not feel too much offended by her rudeness. As I mentioned before they feel superior to everything including their own shadows."

"And you don't?" Tifa gave back. She looked rather bemused as they set into motion. Maybe, she had expected something like this.

"How could I feel superior to someone as loyal as my shadow?"

Tifa gave him a long look from the side which left him a little puzzled as to what she was thinking. At least, it didn't seem to be something negative. In the same moment, though, they stepped out of the cold and into the warm ballroom.

The room was full of people, many faces which Rufus recognized only too well, some of which had still been spoilt brats when he had – left. Around the dance floor, tables had been placed, a band was just tuning their instruments, discreetly but yet not discreetly enough not to make it obvious that they were professional musicians. The dance floor was occupied with people chatting, too many servants were busily running through the room one of which stopped in front of them.

"Oh, Mr Shinra! What a pleasant surprise! Follow me, please!"

The man ignored Tifa completely although Rufus knew very well that if she had been someone else, he would have welcomed her as exuberantly as him. Bright light from fake chandeliers was lighting the room so that the expensive crystal glass glasses were shimmering like diamantes. The silverware, of course, was made from silver, but they at least looked as if they didn't contained as much silver as before meteor were now useful enough if one wanted to kill someone. The room was sparkling with the decoration but it was by no way as opulent as it had used to be, before Meteor. Clearly, they were descending. Still, in Rufus opinion, the room was still over-decorated and it looked exactly as faked as before Meteor. Faked like the fairy-tale-world they were still pretending to live in. Tseng next to him was frowning, Tifa was staring.

Being led to the table, Rufus was well aware that several people were looking at them or rather staring at Tifa on his arm. Women dressed in opulent dresses, men in their overpriced tuxedos. He had expected being stared at and he had expected that they would start talking behind their backs the moment they had passed, but he wasn't sure that the looks didn't bother Tifa as little as he cared about them.

When they had been seated at a table – the Turks weren't aloud to sit, but Tseng and Elena would keep close by in any case, Rufus knew, he leaned closer to Tifa. "Did Reeve advice you on your dress?"

For the spite of a second she looked uneasy, but then gave only a nod. "A little…. It doesn't quite fit the occasion, does it?"

"I was just about to observe that I find it a remarkably good choice."

She blinked, then frowned. "Hasn't you mother taught you that one must not tell lies?"

He gave a laugh. "I wasn't lying. Different from everybody else in this room you don't only pretend to look good."

She opened her mouth to reply something, sharp, he supposed, but in the same moment, perhaps as it dug in what he had actually said, she closed it again and turned a little red, nearly undetectable. He hadn't thought that he would be repaid that generously.

"Well, thank you," she said a little off-handed and drank a little from her glass. Then, she pointed at the silverware. "Is that all genuine?"

"Oh, most certainly." He studied the knife.

"And they already had that before Meteor?"

He sneered. "It seems to me they sold a lot already." The silver rings for the napkins were missing and it looked as if were going to have only four courses instead of ten.

Tifa gave a disbelieving laugh. "And people were starving in the slums!"

Rufus shrugged. It amused him how much the luxury seemed to disgust Tifa. "They do still nowadays."

She glared at him, then shook her head. "Why aren't they at least trying to _help_?"

"Now, clearly, you can't expect them to help if they are at the edge of poverty themselves."

She shook her head. "Sometimes I wonder why we even had scruples…"

Rufus smirked. "Did you? You certainly failed to give that impression."

Tifa glared at him again. He liked the way the fire flared up behind her eyes. "You're the right one complaining!" He noticed that she almost grinned; she wasn't minding his words as much as she acted and the realization alone made his heart beat faster.

He grinned. "Let's continue our lovely conversation after the speech, shan't we?" He pointed towards the little stand where someone had been stupid enough to provide Isolde with a microphone and she was tapping it now to get everyone's attention. The room around them was quieting down. It was, as expected and not unusual for these parties, a boring speech. Isolde talked about things liked 'eternal beauty', 'the right connections', 'fashion', 'style' and seemed to think that people infected with New Geostigma where the root to all that was evil which came as no surprise, either. Although her phrases were rather hollow, her rhetoric was quite accomplished but without surprises. Rufus had heard worse speeches. Tifa looked bored but when she caught his eyes smiled a little at him, a smile which he returned only too gladly although he wasn't sure what to make out of it. She didn't hate him anymore, so much was obvious and she seemed to have stopped thinking about Cloud, but he wasn't about to give in to any funny notions the chemistry in his brain was forcing upon him.

After the opening speech what he supposed would be the most delightful part of the evening began. Tifa accepted his hand to the opening dance a lot less reluctantly than he had supposed she would. As he had expected, though, it turned out that she didn't know very much on that matter. Her hands were rough, her style harsh, she didn't always stay in tact, he felt his heart hammering madly when she grinned at him in enjoyment, her lips breathlessly counting the steps. He had never thought that embarrassing one could be as enjoyable.

"I didn't think it could be so much fun!" she commented at the end of the dance.

"Would you like another dance, then?" Yes, he was definitely a fool even to ask that question. It wasn't even close to smart; Isolde might take it as an insult. But, then again, he supposed she was far too chatty to sulk long enough for him to loose his patience.

Tifa looked at him, narrowed her eyes for a moment, as to judge whether he meant what he said, the music started playing again, something very banal, but he didn't care for anything but the expression on her face, flushed with the exercise. It was somewhere between reserve and enjoyment, he could see her fighting over the decision in her head. Then, he felt his skin prickling as she placed her hand on his upper arm again and smiled.

"Why not?"

He felt his heart hammering as he put his hand onto her back, felt her warmth through the dress and set them into motion. Tifa smiled at him, he caught her smell, her hand brushed over his body when he let her turn below his arm. He barely heard the music, barely saw the world around him, Tifa finished the rotation, misjudge her speed, bumped into him and took a hurried step back after which she tried to turn him into another direction.

"You know, you must not lead," he told her with a smile and gently turned her from crashing into another couple.

She looked up, smiled back, was so close again, he felt her warm hand in his and wished the song would go on forever. But in the next moment already, the last tones trailed away and Tifa stopped her movement.

For a moment, she looked at him, then took her hand from his upper arm. "I think Elena and I'll have to find out where the water is going to…"

He nodded and felt slightly disappointed although logically being disappointed didn't make much sense. "Certainly. And I'll have to attend to a very boring conversation." He led her back to the table and watched out of the edge of his eye how she disappeared together with Elena as if they were heading to 'freshen up'. She didn't look back once, deeply in conversation with Elena. He had heard that having loved once but in vain was better than never loving at all, but wasn't quite sure that was correct; love came with many inconveniences such as effected judgement and being preoccupied. To him, it didn't seem a very useful state to be in, only one that made people more vulnerable. More likely to become unfocused and in the end, loose.

* * *

_Hope you liked it so far. In the next part, Rufus will at last be able to make his mistake._

_I do hope I won't forget to put the rating up. I think that's kind of necessary because starting with the next chapter, things will get ugly._

_Please review._


	25. Hubris

_I'm sorry I only manage to post the chapter today, but work overwhelmed me at the weekend again__ and when I was about to upload the chapter, I decided that I didn't like it the way it was and rewrote it again._

_So, now, we come to Rufus' promised mistake but I suppose it won't come as a great surprise (even without the title already giving it away).

* * *

_

Chapter 25: Rufus: Hubris

Tseng was waiting for him next to the table, but he wasn't looking at Rufus when he approached. He was looking after Elena and Tifa, too.

"You look preoccupied." Tseng gave him only a short look before he turned his eyes away again and Rufus thought that he wasn't the only one who did when he took up a glass of water. "A strange evening, isn't it?"

Tseng signified a shrug and refused the seat Rufus offered him. "Not stranger than most other evenings, Shachou."

Rufus placed his glass on the table. Tseng hadn't been looking after Elena _and_ Tifa he had noticed. Only after Elena. He wasn't sure whether he should feel relieved for Elena that Tseng was finally showing some interest in her. After all, if that interest increased, Tseng might show less interest in him. "Well, I hope they'll find something, soon. If they are quick enough they'll save me from a dance with that lady of the house." He sneered.

"Then, they'll have to be really quick," Tseng observed without even a battering an eyelid and nodded over his shoulder.

Rufus drained his glass. "I hope she sprains her ankle."

"Don't see to it."

Rufus smirked and flipped his mobile open, connecting it to Tseng's who picked up after the first ring. "Record what we say. I'm sure it's going to be boring, but if she knows something, I'm going to worm it out of her empty head."

"You really shouldn't underestimate them, Rufus. I don't think they are quite as stupid and quite as banal as you think. Please be careful." Tseng's face was serious when he looked up from his mobile and the seriousness in it didn't suit Rufus at all.

"I don't think them stupid, Tseng. Shallow, perhaps, but not stupid. Don't worry." Tseng was worrying far too much again. Had worried far too much so far.

Tseng just gave him a stern look. He wasn't believing him. He didn't want him to be here and only the argument that there wasn't much of another way to get into this house and get to the information quickly had persuaded him.

Rufus slipped his activated mobile into his pocket. "My, Tseng, I'll just do some talking. Before it gets dangerous, we'll all be off and you can call the tower to unleash a firestorm here, whatever."

By now, he could hear Isolde approach and Tseng frowned, still. "We only need to know that they are responsible for the murders and who 'they' is. Please remember that. Don't be reckless."

"Rufus! There you are! My, I'm sorry to keep you waiting; I was engaged for sooo long! – Won't you ask me for a dance?" She winked very heavily and Rufus felt aversion rising simultaneously with the thrill of the prospect to worm a confession out of a murderer. He turned around with a smile. This would be very amusing.

"Why, Isolde, of course, if you'll do me the honour!" He let himself be taken by the arm although usually, he would have forbidden such an action.

"So?" He probed after he had been silent for several moments. He could see that she was boiling with anticipation. "What are you going to tell me?"

She feigned ignorance. "Who said I was?"

"You just hinted you would." He tried to sound rather bored to make her even more eager to tell him. She who, if he had been just any man, would have gladly killed him. Playing with fire had always given him a thrill, even though he doubted very much they would lay a finger on him even if they found out. After all, he was the heir of Shin-Ra. Good for him she only judged by appearance and money.

She grinned stupidly. "Well, first at all, I'll have to check if we are of one mind."

"How couldn't we?" He replied with a smug grin and turned her around her axis.

She laughed. "Right you are! – What do you think about White Geostigma?"

Rufus had to force down the laugher that was building up in his throat. How could she even be asking such a question after the opening speech she had given?

"Why," he replied and took full enjoyment out of the lie. "It's disgusting! Those people who are infected with it are an embarrassment to the town!"

"Yes! Are they not!" Isolde beamed but then, her eyes had caught fire. "Did you know – they are responsible for the entire misery we are in! – Have you read the scientific reports? They have sinned against the planet! They are the ones who took away all the happiness! Because of them, Midgar was destroyed! They carried their evil doing into our wonderful town! And our planet tried to rid itself from them! – That's what Geostigma was, you know! The planet tried to clean away all the sinners! All those devils who were working for Sephiroth! But there are too many, and many of them hid themselves and made other, innocent, die instead! But now, the planet has found out about everybody and marked all the guilty ones! As long as they still walk the surface of this planet, a better future won't be possible! They'll destroy it, just like they destroyed our glorious past! So, we have to purge them from the surface of this world!"

Rufus narrowed his eyes. It seemed very much that she meant what she said. Her eyes were aglow with the idea, and he smirked. This was getting better and better. "My – that sounds like quite a task! I can only admire your zeal!"

Her face glowed. "Do you? Do you indeed?"

Rufus studied her, coolly, while beaming on the outside and asked himself how she could indeed believe what she was saying. With even a little sense, one had to realize that her reasoning was complete nonsense. Then again, people had – and believed still – even greater nonsense then this. And too much money gave rise to boredom, the loss of money rise to bad feelings and on going boredom rise to strange ideas which first started out as little thoughts but the more one talked, the more they continued to folly or fanatic ideas. And talk there was enough within the nobility. The problem with Isolde was that she was too stupid to see how silly her logic was, even if one pointed it out to her. Or maybe she wasn't. He had never been quite sure of that. Maybe she was just too shallow to care as long as things amused her.

So, he agreed only carefully to what she had said to have her say more.

"But – oh! You think I'm just talking randomly! You must not think so! I'm not! No, I tell you! – They are clever, those White-spotted devils! But we will find them all and we'll wash them free of theirs sins and save this planet!" She had to stop to catch her breath, her eyes were glowing like coals, so very different from the way Tifa's eyes glowed. And yet, once, Tifa's eyes must have been alive with a similar fanaticism. "And afterwards – afterwards, everything will be like before again! – That's what you want, too, don't you? That everything is like before!"

"Oh, of course I wish for that! If Midgar could only be that beautiful town again! If my father only were still alive to rule on!" he agreed, hiding the sarcasm behind enthusiasm. Just a little further and they would be able to cut them down like ripe fruits. He hoped very much the music didn't drain out too much and that Tseng was furthering everything to Reeve. "But, honestly, Isolde, - what do you want to do? Just wash? Do you really think that's going save the world?"

"Oh, hush, not just _wash_, silly! We make sure all their sins are gone and atoned for!" She winked and he had to brace himself against the wave of contempt that filled him. Tifa never winked.

"But how do you want to do that?" He felt silly to ask even further, thrilled that he had gotten her to admit the 'we' now. It could only be a matter of moments before she babbled everything on tape.

She grinned. "Not 'want', Rufus! '_Do_'. – Do you remember Vice-Mayor Eliot? – You won't believe it! That slimy bastard was one of them! Got his post to put the world in even deeper misery! Well, we did him!"

Rufus tried to look astonished while inside, he had to fight himself to keep a spiteful grin from his face. He was close! "Did him? Like – how?"

She grinned in triumph. "Well, you've seen the news lately, haven't you? That was us! We made him pay! We made him confess all his sins and exorcised him!"

Rufus tried to increase the astonishment on his face while on the inside, he was all triumph. She was really wrapping herself into a nice package and he couldn't imagine something more fun than tugging at the wrapping. "You? Impossible! You couldn't, Isolde! Not you!"

He knew very well what the sweetest people were capable of if only you forced them. And Isolde wasn't anywhere close to 'sweet'. She just had to tell him now who the others were. That was the last thing he needed to know and he would certainly worm _that_ out of her, too. Afterwards, he didn't care anymore. Afterwards, this was Reeve's business. Maybe, there was even time for another dance with Tifa until the mansion was stormed. Surely, the band was paid to play even if hell broke loose. But Tseng would surely evacuate them long before that.

Isolde felt honoured by his words, it seemed. "Oh yes! I admit, at the beginning, it really wasn't easy, all the blood, and the screaming. It really gets to your nerves at first. But for the good of my future, I _had_ to do it, you know? And I tell you, once they are cleaned, it's a delight!"

So, she was just like Scarlet, then. He didn't like it when passion was involved in killing. "Amazing! You amaze me, Isolde! But – I heard they drowned?" Come on, tell the tape how you killed them!

"Oh, yeah, they did! We've got the Holy Water, you know? – Tons of it, - Ennio, Ennio Scipione, you remember him, don't you, well, he built the connection, you know! And that stupid WRO, they won't even guess! – Ha! I bet that Tuesti-guy is one of them, too!"

"I can only marvel at you." Yes, how could she be so stupid? But now, he had already a second name.

Suddenly, she seized his wrist. "Oh, hush, Rufus! I'm just helping Daddy and Ennio and all the others! But you, you could be great! – Come on, I'll show you! – Maybe, if you're lucky, you can even be part of it today!"

Rufus stopped her. "Now, I don't think that will be necessary." Or was it? He wasn't quite so sure as to how expressive Reeve needed Isolde's confession to act.

Isolde stopped, too. "Come on, Rufus, don't worry, the media won't hear any of this! They haven't found out so far and nobody will in future. And if – well, we are going to be heroes! Come, I'll introduce you to the rest of the party!"

If Isolde was so kind (or stupid) as to introduce him to the rest of the party, surely, that would save them a lot of trouble. Besides, it would be much more fun to find out more than just step back now. Out of the edge of his eye, Rufus saw Tseng getting out his mobile and he gave him a short nod before he set into motion to follow Isolde. Let Tseng call in the cavalry now; until they came, he would know more. And it wasn't like anything could happen to him; his own reputation as the heir of Shin-Ra was far too high that they would dare to touch him. It wouldn't even dawn to Isolde that he could be infected and even if not, different from any other victim before he had his gun and knew how to defend himself. The risk was minimal, the gain huge. He decided to enjoy himself a little further.

"Well, if the _media_ won't find out, I would of course be most interested to know more. Pray tell me, who are your noble comrades?"

Isolde gave one of her girlish laughs and thankfully let go of his hand to childishly put her finger onto her lips while thinking and looking awfully dense. "Hm… let's see, can I tell you? I do think I can tell you already, it's not like you are going to _tell_ anyone!"

"Now, certainly not." _Not I, you're just babbling it on tape yourself. _"You can be assured of my full sympathy for your noble scheme and, of course, my loyalty." These words were certainly the most enjoyable he had uttered so far.

"Ah! Yes, yes, of course! I'm not doubting you, you know… only, Ennio says I talk too much."

"I can't imagine where he gets that idea from. I don't mind you talking at all." At least not as long as she spilled useful information. He wasn't planning to follow her all the way. As soon as she had coughed up all the names, he would get out the mobile and tell Tseng where they were and that the cavalry was indeed taking its time. He supposed that Isolde's expression would be worth every cent he had pumped into them. It would, perhaps, be as priceless as the face of his father when the old man had realized he had been trying to kill him.

They had meanwhile headed farer into the depths of the mansion, quickly away from the party, and Isolde had started her list of names – a lot of them very familiar to him. It was sad that she interrupted herself to point out several paintings to him, but at least, that left him some time to think. He didn't hear any steps behind them, but he was sure that Tseng was following them nonetheless, hopefully already having Reeve get his people ready. Tseng had looked rather cross when he had turned to follow Isolde and he was sure he was going to get a lecture about reckless behaviour again when this was over. Perhaps he should make up for it. Give the Turks some days off (not that Tseng would take them). Ask him whether he would be so kind as to cook some Wutainen food again, fake inoccupation and help him. Maybe, Tifa could even be persuaded to come for supper one of these days. His eyes darted back to the babbling Isolde who hadn't yet arrived at the end of her list. How different Tifa was from her!

And why hadn't Isolde arrived at the end of her list, yet? The thought crossed Rufus' mind as Isolde led him up a staircase into the first storey. There shouldn't be so many people. No, there weren't so many people, she was just interrupting herself again and again to show him some paintings or other plunder.

At the top of the staircase, a little further down a corridor, Isolde gave her childish laugh again, turning around to him. "Um…, yes, I think that's everyone! – But, wait, let's ask Daddy to make sure!" She stopped in front of a two-winged door, leaned against one of the doors and opened it to a room. As all the other rooms and corridors before, it was at least three metres high, covered by expensive carpets and the windows were clothed in even more voluptuous curtains. The walls, Rufus noticed, were covered with silk and opposite to the door, another glass door lead onto a balcony in a winter garden behind which the dark of the rainy night loomed. In the room Manuel Fontainebleau was waiting in one of the expensive chairs, jumping put as soon as Isolde had pushed open the door to seize his hand.

"Ah, I'm glad you've come, Rufus! But, of course, I never doubted for a moment that you wouldn't! Not President Shinra's son!"

"I am honoured to be let into you secret. Very honoured indeed," Rufus replied with a smirk and decided that it was time to leave them to it; Isolde had taken him a little too long with naming all their associates, even given the fact that she had clearly been bragging with their house and he wasn't about to be too reckless.

"It's a great pleasure to welcome you to our group. Come – let me show you where we bring them." Fontainebleau continued and turned into the room, obviously expecting him to follow, pointing at the winter garden.

Rufus looked up to scrutinize the beaming man, the room behind the door and doubted for a moment. Why not take everything they offered to him on a silver tablet? Why not enter that room and let them entangle themselves even further in their net of stupidity? He was about to follow but then hesitated. It was thought chic in the nobility if the girls were as stupid as bread. But the way Isolde had talked about their torturing methods had had the underlying tone of someone who clearly understood what was going on. Yet, it would be a nice finishing touch to see where they tortured their victims and surely, if they suspected him of anything, they would have checked him for weapons already. Still, he had promised Tseng not to be reckless for once and if he entered that room now, Tseng would chew his head off.

"Usually, we lure them here on some pretext," Fontainebleau continued cheerfully. He was already in the middle of the room and turned back to him. "Do you not want to enter?"

"Is something the matter, Rufus?" Isolde said behind him. The concern in her voice had a strange nuance which made him turn around to her. There had been a slight hint of scorn. And over Isolde's shoulder, he caught movement, for the doubt of a second saw a shadow in the corridor. Tseng wouldn't be as careless to let himself be seen.

"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. I just thought I heard something," he replied with a smirk, somewhat uneasy now. Had he been mistaking? Was his status perhaps not worth as much as he had presumed? Had he been foolish enough to let himself be lured here on a pretext, too? Isolde had definitely taken very long with naming all their associates.

"Why don't you enter, then?" Isolde pointed at the room. "Do you not want to see the pool with the Holy Water?"

Yes, there was definitely a slightly scornful undertone in her voice and the more he looked at the innocent expression in her painted face, the surer he felt that this was a trap and he had walked right into it. But they didn't know, yet, he had noticed and by now, Reeve had to have heard enough to order his people to storm the mansion. Could they know about that? No. They surely didn't. Otherwise, they would be much more nervous. At the moment, they didn't seem as if they were going to do something to him and if he played along, he would certainly have an advantage.

"Oh, certainly! I would be most exceedingly obliged if you could show it to me!" He entered the room and out of the edge of his eye caught hasting in the corridor. Not of servants, of someone armed.

Isolde entered the room after him and closed the door behind them. At the other end of the room, two open doors were leading directly onto a balcony stuffed full with dry plants. The winter garden behind the balcony was lit dimly, the night behind its glass pitch black. There had to be a pool in that winter garden for water reflexes were dancing greenly into the room. Rufus stepped further into the room and towards the balcony. In his back, he heard the faint but unmistakable click as Isolde turned a key in the lock of the door.

"What a nice winter garden! Is the water in the pool the water from the church?" He asked, as if interested. He couldn't have been less interested. He only wanted Tseng to know where he was.

"Yes. Of course," said Fontainebleau. He had seated himself in his chair again and was staring at him from the depths of it. He wasn't sitting at ease, rather on the rim of the armchair and he had placed a cushion on his lap, on hand underneath it. The warm air from the winter-garden was rustling in the dried up plants on the balcony. The rain was invisibly hammering onto the glass-panels and there was a faint purling sound of water that was flowing into the pool. The moisture in the warm air was almost becalming. "We know what you are here for, Rufus."

Rufus smirked and stepped onto the balcony. Even if he supposed that below the cushion on his lap Fontainebleau was hiding a weapon, he didn't suppose that either Isolde or Fontainebleau was much of a danger to him; he had spent the best of the last seven years with Turks and trained with them. "Do you? – Now, this is a nice balcony indeed! I would water the plants from time to time, though. They seem to have seen better times, too."

"Don't act like it," Fontainebleau replied calmly. "You know, Rufus, we had really counted on you! We had really hoped that you had changed after all these years! But you always were something of a black sheep, never like your worthy father. Even as a little boy. Stubborn, I remember you were. Stubborn and condescending. You never understood about true values like friendship and consequence. I used to think it was just an age thing; some kids are slower than others. So, now, once again, we gave you every chance. But instead of taking our offered hands, you just paid us off with that minimum of money. You scorned our ancestors and you scorn us! And now, you've even come to spy on us!"

Rufus gave a soft laugh and turned back into the room. There wasn't much of a way to get down from the balcony; it was hanging about 4 m over the floor of the winter garden and the plants made it impossible to get to the balustrade apart from that part that was directly above the pool. So that was why Isolde had locked the door. It might have been the better idea to stay in the corridor after all; the two Fontainebleaus were clearly waiting for someone to arrive. But Reeve's people surely wouldn't need more than ten minutes to get into the mansion and surely, Tseng would move heaven and hell to get him out of here as quickly as possible. "Ah. Well, you have me there. But since you are so good at putting two and two together, why don't you just tell you daughter to unlock that door?"

Isolde had moved away from the door and in her movement and posture, there was nothing of the former flirting or even stupidity left. Her face wasn't the one of that silly girl he had been talking to so far. It was drawn into a an ugly mask full of scorn. "Oh, I know you think us stupid, Rufus! But we are not stupid. Not as stupid or dumb as you are! Ha! I tried my best for old time's sake to help you out of there, but you … you even associate with _Turks_! – But I see clearly now! It was always you who was behind all of this! _You_ formed a pact with Sephiroth! _You_ had him murder your father, so _you_ could take our precious civilisation down and wrack havoc! But I'm sure the planet marked you!" Her eyes were burning and she positively looked as if she wanted to kill him personally and for the first time since Rufus had entered the room he asked himself whether they might, after all, become dangerous to him. And then, Isolde smiled at him, broadly. "So, for now, you'll go nowhere! You'll wait here together with us until the doctor comes to ascertain your treason! And don't dare to try anything! I know you think someone's going to come for you, but we've got our soldiers waiting in front of that door! – We'll make you confess all your sins and we'll make sure you atone for them! By the end of tonight, everything will be like it has been before you set your foot back into Midgar!"

Slowly, Rufus was starting to feel a little more than just a bit vexed with himself that he had fallen for their stupid trap. Uneasiness and the feeling of being cornered were starting to slip into his mind. Soldiers. He made no doubt that those were the shadows he had seen when he had followed Fontainebleau into the room. But the problem with soldiers wasn't that they would keep him inside this room or the Turks out of it. The problem with them was that this mansion had all architectonical necessities to be held like a fort if defended by soldiers. And that meant that help wasn't even close to on its way to him. Still, he maintained the calm expression on his face. "You will do no such thing. Do you not know that I own all your companies and every scrap you call your own? The moment you lay hand on me, you'll all be turned from your houses and this entire area will be used as a waste-dump. So, I think you might consider opening that door again."

Isolde and her father both stared at him for moments long, their expression wavering. Then, suddenly, Isolde laughed, shrill and hysterically. "Oh, _Rufus_, you are so naïve! _Ennio_ will see to all that! _He_ already has people who only wait to get those silly and falsified contracts from your safes! There's a riot starting downtown just now, so nobody will notice! Your Turks will have all hands full with _that_ and even if they manage to get here, they won't even be able to _enter_ here! Do you think those people out there are just police officers? _We_ didn't spend our time idly! They are fully trained soldiers and not just two or three! It's an army! Your Turks won't even get unto this _floor_ before we haven't made you confess all your sins!"

Rufus halted in his movement. He was feeling entirely cold now, realizing that he had completely underestimated him. For once, he doubted that Isolde was just bragging. Fighting against fully trained soldiers, it would take Reeve's people hours to get into the mansion, maybe they would even abort when casualties mounted too high or when they needed the forces within the city. Those soldiers would buy all the time Isolde and associates would need to torture him, kill him and run for it. Maybe, he had gone too far for once. Tseng had never talked about what happened to him and Elena when they had been abducted by Kadaj, but he had seen his Turk's body and only the thought of it made his blood freeze. No. Not freeze. Boil with that fire within. Fire that was licking up at the edge of his brain like a predator in the jungle, ready to take over the moment he allowed himself to panic.

Isolde was standing in the middle of the room, between him and the door, as if she was shielding it. And Fontainebleau was only half sitting on his arm chair. His hand had slipped under the cushion on his lap and by the cramped posture he was sitting in, Rufus had no doubt anymore that he was hiding a pistol below that cushion that was presently pointing at him.

He had to get out of here. Before they could do something to him, before he would loose control once again. Before his Turks could risk their lives because he had been too damn stupid and arrogant to notice the nobility's game. He stared at the door in front of him, his heart hammering. He tried to force himself to calmness, the flames away, to think, not to let flames – or his stupid arrogance – get the better of him. He had to deal with this. Before anyone of his Turks could get hurt. Not to mention Tifa whom he had drawn into this, too. He _would_ deal with this.

"You are actually mistaking," he said, slowly trying to move around Isolde, eyes on the door behind. Would the door hold? It looked, thank Gaia, rather massive. Would he be quick enough? Isolde move, as expected, a little closer to the door. He was almost with his back to the wall, the maximal distance in which he could bring himself from Fontainebleau. Tseng would lynch him. If he survived this, his Turk would personally lynch him for being so stupid as to follow them. For being so stupid as to let his prejudices and arrogance get the better of him and believe they were just stupid. Well, _if_ he survived. He had to survive. Tifa had smiled at him during the dance. He felt his skin crawl with the fire below it. He never wanted to loose control to those flames again. Never in life.

"Mistaking? Don't try to talk yourself out of it! Your entire behaviour this night proves us right!" Isolde scoffed.

"You are actually mistaking," Rufus repeated, now coldly. Isolde was almost standing between him and her father now, "if you say 'I associate with Turks'. I don't." He moved his hand upwards. The plan was madness. Sheer and desperate madness. "I _am_ a Turk."

In the same moment, he had already ripped his own gun from his jacket, pushed the safety off and fired thrice. As expected, Fontainebleau jumped up but hesitated to fire with his girl between them, and Rufus' first shot got him straight through the right shoulder, send him tumbling backwards, his pistol falling uselessly to the ground, even before Rufus' second shot pierced his thigh. Out of the edge of his eye, Rufus saw Isolde pulling something from her purse, swung his gun, his third shot missed her by millimetres as she ducked away, her pistol crashed, but his fourth shot, only a second later, tore its way right through the woman's tight. She tumbled backwards, face pale in shock, a tiny golden pistol falling from hand. Her father had knocked against a tiny table in his fall, had fallen over together with it and was lying motionless on the expensive carpet, most likely unconscious from hitting the floor head-first. Isolde was crawling towards her pistol, as quickly as her injured leg would allow her, panic all over her face. Gun in hand, Rufus followed the trace of blood she left on the carpet with quick, deliberate paces, before she could overcome her shock enough to cry for help or even reach for her pistol. His heart was hammering. He didn't yet hear anything from the door. Isolde's over-painted face was torn in horror when he kicked the pistol aside. It would have been much easier and less dangerous to kill them, but Reeve and certainly also Tifa would most likely take it badly if he had killed them.

"You won't get away with this!" Isolde whimpered. "Even if you kill me! _We _will find you!" She whined, her voice high pitched with panic when he had reached her. With one hand, he got out his mobile. With the other, he aimed the barrel at her head, just for the right spot as Tseng had taught him so many years ago, a movement which stopped Isolde's stream of hoarsely whispered abuse. Her eyes were staring at him in panic, she tried to shield her head and in a smooth movement, he let the barrel collide with her skull, thanking Tseng inwardly for the long hours of training which had just saved his life. A bodyguard who was able to protect his charge even when not around was inestimable. Even before Isolde sunk back unconscious, he put the mobile to his ear and nearly flinched as a hot pain shot through his right under-arm: "Tseng, do you copy?"

"Rufus! Are you alright?"

"Yes, yes, don't worry." In his right sleeve, a bit of the cloth was missing and he could watch the edges being dyed in a painful red; Isolde's shot must have scratched him after all. There were shouts behind the door.

"You have to get out of there! We can't get into the first story, they've closed it off!"

"Then don't." Rufus moved onto the balcony, considering his stinging arm. The wound was very deep, thank Gaia, but the fire seemed to be sipping out together with the blood, burning itself through his sleeve.

"Can you get to the pool area?" He past the plants – no way to get through them – and stepped to the balustrade. There was a rim around the outside of the balcony, maybe as broad as a hand. Directly below him was the pool with a diving board.

"Yes. Tifa knows where this pool is, - she says we are almost there. Elena is already preparing to get us through the fence. Can you somehow get down from that balcony?"

Rufus stepped closer to the balustrade. He turned, listened behind him, Tifa's name still spinning in his head. Someone was hammering madly at the door now. Letting himself fall onto the diving-board was no option. Even though it would perhaps cushion his fall, chances were too high that he didn't hit it probably which would definitely result in several broken bones. But if he hurried, he would maybe have time to climb around the plants and let himself far enough down to jump onto the ground. But it could only be moments before someone would get an axe. Although he wasn't training as much with the Turks as he had used to in Junon, he should be well enough in shape to manage not to break his ankles. And by now, he was surely full enough of adrenaline that he would be able to ignore much greater pain than the one in his arm. He wasn't going to tell Tseng about his plan, however. _This _certainly belonged into the category of 'pulling crazy stunts'.

"I'll manage," he thus just replied, pushing the weapon back into his jacket, ignoring the pain in his arm and snapped the mobile shut.

The noise at the door was getting louder. As quickly as possible, he climbed onto the balustrade. In the same moment, there was a loud crash and out of the edge of his eye, Rufus saw the door vibrating in its hinges. He cursed under his breath, climbing along the balustrade, ducking away under the dried out branches and twigs. As soon as they were in the room, hell would break loose. If he wasn't off the balcony at that time, he was dead meat. Another crash made the door shiver and Rufus saw splinters flying. Without a moment of hesitation, he propelled himself over the balustrade and onto the rim. His left foot landed safely, but his right slipped and he would have lost his balance if he hadn't clung to the balustrade in the last moment which sent a harsh pain through his right arm, fire flaring high.

Simultaneously, there was another crash and something splintered from the door, crashing onto the expensive carpet. Rufus tried to move along the rim as quickly as possible. At the moment, he was still shielded from the view of the other windows by the enormous plants, but that also meant he was still right above the pool. And the rim was far too narrow to move at a high speed. Someone shouted into the room for Isolde and Fontainebleau, only one step to the edge of the balcony, three steps around it and he would be able to lower himself savely down. In the same moment, just as he placed his next step, plaster broke away under his foot and it slipped a second time, but he didn't have much time to find his balance again, for in the next moment, the door splintered open.

"He's not here!" he heard someone shout and ducked behind the balustrade. Luckily, every fifty centimetres, there was slit in the balustrade and just enough room between the balustrade and the next flowerpot to slip his fingers through. The movement nearly cost him his entire balance; his left foot slipped, he just managed in time to press himself again the white stone, but the foot was only barely on the rim and the other together with his three fingers carried his entire weight. Unless he got up again, there was no way to move without loosing his entire balance. But up he couldn't get up. Someone on the other side of the balustrade was just shouting for a doctor.

"Mr. Shinra?" A man called. "There's no need to hide, we'll find you, anyway!"

Rufus heard his steps muffled on the carpet, joined by other steps at the door. Four pairs of boots, perhaps. He knew he was completely at display once someone would lean over the balustrade and Tseng wasn't even in sight to cover him. Steps were coming into the direction of the balcony, quickly, determined. He wasn't above the diving-board anymore, but even if he let himself fall now, they'd just shoot him from up above before he would have reached the rim of the pool. But it was only one pair of boots that was coming into his direction. Carefully, he tried to feel with his free right hand into his jacket which shifted his balance another millimetre backwards, ignoring the pain in it. If he shot that man, maybe that would buy him enough time to slip around the edge of the balcony and get down. The man had almost reached the balcony now and Rufus fingers brushed over the grip of his gun, tucked under the arm with which he was clinging to the banister. His right thigh was already hurting from the unaccustomed pose and a cramp was announcing itself in the left leg. He hoped very much the man wouldn't look over the railing. Or if he did, then in such a way that it didn't present much trouble to blow his brains out.

"I can't see anyone here!" the man called back into the room. He was on the balcony now and the plants were rustling as the man was looking through them.

Rufus' fingers closed around the grip of the gun, dragged it out, millimetre for millimetre. But the movement cost him nearly the rest of his grip he had with his left foot; it slipped a bit further, increased the strain on his fingers, he wouldn't be able hold himself much longer in this pose. The searching noise in the plant got closer and closer and he felt the fire inside him surging higher with his slipping grip. He wouldn't let it get hold of him. He would shoot that man and then, he would safely manoeuvre himself to the ground! His heart was hammering. The man nearly reached him. He felt the hot blood inching down his right arm, the fire that was licking out with it.

"Must be here somewhere! Can't have grown wings!" another voice shouted back, one which Rufus didn't recognize. Out of the edge of the eye, he caught the gleam of healing materia, heard Isolde moan in pain.

"You never know with those bastards!" The man above him called back. He was almost directly next to him now.

In the same moment, Rufus had finally freed the gun from his jacket and quickly pulled himself closer to the railing. This, though, cost his left foot the last of its grip and debris fell into the pool below him. His fingers were slipping, quickly, the fire inside him surged high below his skin, sizzled around the wound in its ugly, frightening way when the plaster splashed loudly into the water.

The man above immediately stopped in his movement. Rufus swung the weapon into position, his skin stinging with the fire. The steps were coming towards the balustrade, determined.

Rufus got the weapon ready, aiming for where the man's head had to appear.

The, suddenly, the steps stopped. The man hadn't reached the balustrade yet. But why had he stopped? He couldn't have seen anything, possible, could he? In the same moment, Rufus realized that he had used his fingers, his slowly slipping fingers, to consider the wound in his arm. And that the balustrade was white. Or rather: had been perfectly white before and with that realization, the fire flared up within him in cold panic.

In the same moment, the man had stepped closer, was right above him now. But even before he could react – even before he could swing his gun – a hand shot through the slit in the balustrade and pulled his hand and arm with irony grip through the hole.

"Hello, Shinra!"

The pain as the man bent his arm against the natural direction of bending was enormous and simultaneously, robbed of his support, he was already falling. But he didn't fight for his balance. Instead, through the cloud of flaring pain and glowing fire he swung his gun, tried and somehow managed to fight the fire inside him down and aimed for head of the man above him. But in the same moment, he had fallen all the way his arm allowed him to fall and he crashed with his entire weight against both shoulder and elbow. The pain when his arm tore from its socket was above everything he had ever experienced before, the skin on his arm seemed to be rasped away by the rough stone and rest of his arm seemed to shatter as it smashed against the railing. He felt his finger twist around the trigger, simultaneously, pain and fire became one, darted up through his body, he heard himself cry out with pain, the fire darted out of the wounds, followed the blood, engulfed him, replace the pain, horribly replace his thinking, his seeing, soared up and swallowed him, tore him with them and dissolved him in an ocean of fire and pain.

The world crashed back into focus when he slammed into the surface of the pool, warm water shooting up through his clothes, into his nose, the dried out mouth, closed over him, he felt himself sinking, felt the fire, tasted the water, the ashes, the pain, the heavy, soaking clothes around his body, realized that he couldn't breath, realized he couldn't move his left arm.

Panic flared up again, mingled with the panic to loose control again, blending with the surging fire. He tried to breath, caught only water, struggle against the clothes, the water, pushed himself up from the bottom of the pool, his head broke through the surface of the water, air flooded into his lungs, he tried to swim as good as the clothes and the immobile arm allowed him, water closed above him once more, he kicked, struggled up again, sharp, smoky air rushed into his lungs, he tried to move forward and nearly sunk twice more. He struggled up again, was completely exhausted, more drowning than swimming when he reached the rim of the pool, clung to it, coughing and gasping for air. His entire left side was aflame with pain so agonizing that it nearly swept his consciousness with it again, the fire was hammering in his eardrums, he could only gasp for air.

Suddenly, somebody grasped his arms, from both sides, and before he could cry out with the excruciating pain that shot through his left side or even knew what was happening or had realized more than that they were going to pull him out of the water, they were already pulling him up.

Just in the last moment and somehow he managed to stop himself from panicking, the fire from shooting forth again, swallowed even more water, nearly fell backwards and was at last dragged onto the shore where he collapsed onto knees and hand, coughing, more unconscious than conscious from pain.

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_So much for now. The next chapter will deal with most of the rest of the fight and some further trouble: Chapter 26: Tifa: Fire, Water, Burn._

_Please review^^_


	26. Fire, Water, Burn

_Please enjoy the third part of the evening. It's going to be rather passionate, I suppose ^^.  


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Chapter 26: Tifa: Fire, Water, Burn

Tifa had never thought she would ever witness Tseng blow his cool. Tseng was launching several very unfriendly-sounding syllables in Wutain at his phone or at Rufus and Tifa was more than surprise to hear that. She was running in front of the Turk, down the long corridor. They had knocked out two guards to get here and all she knew was that Rufus seemed to be in huge trouble – but the trouble had to be huge indeed if it caused Tseng to react like this.

"It's not far anymore!" She told him although it wasn't that closed, either. She hoped very much that things weren't as bad as she feared. When she had sneaked through the building with Elena, she had already seen several soldiers. If they had caught Rufus – if they would be doing to him what they had done to the other victims – two months ago, she would have been perfectly happy about it, now, she didn't know what she would do.

She pushed yet another door open, her heart hammering. Hammering quite differently from the way it had hammered when she had danced with him this evening or the way it had hammered when he had taken her hand for dancing the first time.

"It'd better be very close!" Tseng gave back and Tifa noticed that he was already holding a pistol in his hand. They ran past a staircase and from above, Tifa caught shouts, someone calling to 'search the building'. Steps behind them, on the stairs. The sound of weapons. It could only be moments before someone would see them and they would become the hunted themselves.

"Faster!" Tseng called, adding something in Wutain that, despite all the different tones they had in that language, didn't sound friendly, either.

Only moments later, they rounded the corner to the winter-garden and stood in front of the door she and Elena had peered through not too long ago. Tifa couldn't see anything of Rufus there and reached out for the door knob, her breath burning in her throat. The area looked so peaceful with the pool only rippled by what water was flowing into it at its end and the few plants that were standing around it. Rufus had to be there somewhere and from the shouts that were growing louder behind them, trouble was very much on its way, too. Tifa didn't know what to do if he wasn't there. But as she leaned forward to open the door, it wouldn't move.

"Open it!" Tseng ordered behind her.

"It's locked!" she gave back, feeling silly even as the words passed her lips. In the same moment, the moderate silence around them – only occasionally muffled by the shouts from far away upstairs – was torn by an excruciating scream, only slightly muffled by the glass, that went straight to her bones and nearly simultaneously, the twilight of the room was illuminated by a jet of fire and she just saw someone falling down from the balcony, only missing the diving board by mere inches when the second screaming that had started the moment the flames had been emitted increased in its intensity.

Without another moment of hesitation, Tifa kicked in the door. She hadn't been fighting in a while, but when the lock splintered under her kick and the door crashed open, she knew that she hadn't lost her touch.

Tseng was already overtaking her, running to the rim of the pool but even before she could enter after him,

Her heart was beating in her throat as she ran after Tseng. Out of the edge of her eye, she saw something – someone – ablaze in fire, stumbling over the balcony, the dried plants around him burning. It was him who was screaming, but even before she could feel sorry or aghast, a shot rang through the room and the screaming stopped; instead of being helped, someone of his own people had shot the man.

In the same moment, they had arrived the rim of the pool, Rufus was just reaching the rim of the pool, more drowning than swimming, the water around him was glowing from the fire that was starting to spread quickly above them; the plants on the balcony were ablaze already, the ivory on the entire façade was quickly consumed by the raging fire and it seemed as if the flames had eaten its way into at least one room over an open window and via the curtains. The room behind the balcony was burning already. The air was filled with smoke and sparks, and the water as shimmering in gold, red and yellow.

When the tried to pull Rufus out, his face went white with pain and in the same moment, Tifa felt his skin heating under her hands, so rapidly that she knew she wouldn't be able to let go anymore. But nearly simultaneously, the heat died away again and Rufus collapsed on the ground, moaning with pain and rasping for air. His excruciating cry when she had touched his arm was still ringing in her ears.

"Are you alright, Rufus?" she asked, more to make sure that he was conscious, because he clearly wasn't alright; his arm had been dislocated from its socket, the underarm was lying in a very strange angle, his right arm was bleeding and he looked half drowned. The air was filled with clouds of smoke by now, the fire was flaking from the rooms above them, she heard people shout, scream, the air was heating rapidly, becoming less breathable with every second. Shadows were flickering over the walls in the flaring fire, the water was running red and flaring gold from Rufus' clothes, the pool looked like a sea of fire.

"I'm fine…," he muttered, a little too weak to cover the lie. "Just – don't touch my bloody arm!" The last he snapped at Tseng who had reached out for his arm.

The Turk didn't bother to answer and in the same moment, Rufus cried out in pain as the Turk relocated the arm back into its socket. Although certainly necessary, it left Rufus moaning on the floor, shielding his arm from the Turk. But there was no time to feel sorry or even offer sympathy, as much as she felt it, shouts were ringing through the building, she heard people running. It could only be seconds before anyone would be the idea to be after them.

"We need to get away from here!" She called out. – There wasn't even time to strap up Rufus' arm, barely visible through the smoke and the light of the flaring fire, she caught the sight of people moving behind where the door had been before. They were coming for Rufus and they were coming fast. Maybe, Tseng could do something while running. But, it wasn't like they had a choice. She whirled around her axis, coughing through the smoke that was clouding the entire room now, was up in the same moment. They needed an exit. Behind her, she could hear Rufus and Tseng getting up, too, shouts from the other side of the smoke, asked herself if Rufus was even capable of walking. But it wasn't as if he had a choice. Simultaneously, she had reached the door described to her by a servant and kicked it in. The door flew open and with it, rain and cold wind came racing into the place.

"Freeze!" A man with a gun suddenly jumped out of the smoke. Tseng turned around his own axis, with the other hand holding Rufus' arm in place and fired his pistol while Rufus finished Tseng's movement and strapped his arm to his body. But even as the man dropped, Tifa saw others moving up behind him, guns being trained at them.

"Run!" she shouted, they had reached her in the same moment, Rufus was holding Tseng's second pistol, fired twice into the smoke before he ducked after her into the cold, rainy night. Tseng's pistol crashed another time next to her ear, another pistol answering in reply. The window next to them shattered in a rain of glass, heavily armed men were moving through the smoke towards them, quickly.

She didn't have the time to count, didn't even have time to listen to their warnings that they wouldn't stand a chance if they didn't give themselves up; in the next moment, she Rufus' hand closed around her wrist, pulled her with him, running into the dark after Tseng. She was surprised he still managed to run, although not very quickly, and in between all the haste felt terrible sorry for him. Rain was beating into her face, cold wind stole the breath from her lips, the ground was uneven, she stumbled more than she was running.

"To the fence!" Tseng called, taking cover against a tree and firing back at the blazing silhouette of the winter garden.

Behind them, Tifa heard other calls, for them to halt, she grasped Rufus' wrist, pulled him after her, heard Tseng, twice. They had nearly reached a group bushes which would perhaps offer cover, but in the same moment, the soldiers started seriously replying their fire. A bullet whistled so close past her ear that Tifa felt the hot draught, she pushed herself off the ground to jump behind the bushes and nearly crashed into a wall in front of which they were planted. She tumbled over Rufus who seemingly had had the same idea, fell onto the soggy walk right next to a puddle and scrambled into cover behind the small wall in the same movement.

Tseng came only a second later, backwards, fired twice and then jumped as quickly as humanly possible for cover, too. Suddenly, however, he seemed to freeze in his entire movement. Tifa saw the strange liquid that suddenly emitted in a solid gush from the Turk's body before he crashed uncontrolled into the soggy ground.

"Tseng!" Rufus shouted, darted towards his bodyguard, bullets whistled over them, impacting close to where Tseng's body was lying, only half in cover. The Turk was trying to struggle up, Tifa could see the pain in his face, in the same moment, Rufus was almost out of cover and seized the Turk at his collar and more dragged than helped him into cover.

"Tseng!" The Turk collapsed into his arm, Tifa heard bullets whistling over them, saw the fence only metres away, down a small stairway. There even seemed to be a gate, locked, however, but ducked, they could make it.

Tseng coughed, struggled up, Tifa saw the bloody hole in his stomach, blood running through his jacket at an incredible speed. Pain twisted the Turk's face but he tried to force it into calmness, clung to his pistol and pushed himself with Rufus' help up only to collapse again in the same moment. The blood was everywhere, wallowing over Rufus fingers although he seemed to try hard to press the wound close.

"Run!" The Turk glared up at his charge, grip tightening around the gun in his hand.

"I'm not leaving you here."

"Rufus, listen!" Tseng's voice was pressed. Already, the blood had drenched his entire shirt and was running away over the stones. "You… must! I'll – cover you!"

"I'm not leaving you here, Tseng!" Rufus looked around him, frantically, turned to Tifa: "Materia! I need materia!"

Even with materia, Tifa wasn't sure Tseng could be moved. But she didn't have any with her. But without healing materia, there was no way to stop the bleeding; the Turk would bleed to death within minutes and when she shook her head, she saw the despair on Rufus' face. All Tifa could think about when she snatched up the pistol Rufus had dropped was the moment she had stormed into the church, to Denzel's side, distressed to the last, and how Rufus had just picked the boy up and carried him into the helicopter and into safety. She flung herself against the low wall, all the cover they had, felt horrible as she turned away from Rufus and Tseng to reply the fire and stop their pursuers from coming closer. There was nothing she could possibly do for Tseng, as much as she wished she could. She would have sold her soul in this moment to spare Tseng but she knew there was no way to safe Tseng, had no helicopter to carry him to a hospital, no one to pick him up and carry him into safety. She hadn't even brought healing materia with her.

"I'm not leaving you, Tseng, I'm not letting you die here," she heard Rufus whisper through the hammering rain, saw the blood spreading quickly over the stones, saw that Tseng didn't even had much strength left anymore to move far on his own.

Shots were hammering into the wall around her and she had the bad feeling that under them, their pursuers where closing in. Rain was hammering down all around them, her own clothes in spite of the raincoat as drenched as Rufus' by now, but although she tried to glance around the edge of the bushes, she couldn't keep her eyes off Rufus and Tseng, horrified. Second by second she could see Tseng weakening, the desperation on Rufus' face as he pressed his hand against the Turks wound, the blood that was wallowing freely over his fingers, painting the grass around them red. Tifa fired thrice at the muzzle-fire and the shadows in front of the blazing winter-garden, shadows that had moved much closer in the last few seconds.

"… just leave me back… it's my duty… to…" Tseng's voice broke off again.

"I am not going anywhere without you, Tseng! You won't die!"

"I… run, Rufus, please…. Leave… me… Please!"

"No! - Don't die, please! Tseng, don't die!" Tifa heart his voice break and the distress in his words mauled her heart. She had never believed Rufus capable of so much feeling towards his Turks. But the way he was pressing his hand on his friend's wound, the way the blood from his own wound mingled with that sipped through his fingers, the pain in his face made it clear that he would have given everything for the Turk's life and it tore her heart out – not to be able to offer consolation, not to be able help, not to be able safe Tseng. Just to shot once again at the muzzle flash of a gun in the dark while all she wanted was to lift his pain.

"Run, you fool!" Tseng nearly shouted it with all his remaining strength which was barely a whisper now. "I don't want to die for nothing!"

Another thrust of bullets hammered into the wall, closer this time, and even though Tifa shot once again, their pursuers were quickly closing in. They didn't have more than several minutes and she wasn't sure she had many bullets left.

"No! Don't die, Tseng, please, don't! Don't! Please!" Rufus was begging now, pressing his hands against Tseng's wound, begging, tears running over his face, his voice changing into madly desperation: "You won't die here on me! I won't allow you to quit! Tseng! Tseng! Do you hear me? I. Will. Not. Let! You! Die!" Tifa saw him close his eye, the rain – tears – that were running down his exhausted face, saw him concentrating and didn't comprehend. She shot again and in the same moment as the slide of her pistol slid back, the magazine empty, even before she propelled herself back into cover, realization came to her.

"No! Don't!" She shouted, screamed and jumped forward, not caring about the bullets or anything else.

But it was too late. She caught the short flash of all-engulfing panic on Rufus' face and then, down from the wound in his arm to the hand on the Turk's wound, fire flashed, flashed into an enormous jet. She heard Tseng scream in pain with all the strength he had left in his body, smelt the stink of simmering flesh, burned clothes and magic and threw herself forward against Rufus. Her body slammed into his chest, they were both falling, she felt the heat – the infernal heat – emitting from his body, flaring around them, blinding light, smelt hair burning, heard the rain sizzling, the fire roaring next to her ear, heard herself shouting for him to stop as everything around them burst into flames, but knew he couldn't. There was no way he could control the powers within him and if it didn't stop soon, it wouldn't only reduce the entire surrounding into ashes but also the soldiers, her, Tseng and Rufus himself. Already, it was so hot around her that she could barely breath – the air seemed to be on fire – Rufus' skin under her hands was on fire –, they slammed into the huge puddle that had formed next to the walk, he backwards, she into his chest, the water simmering, and nearly simultaneously, the fire that surrounded them extinguished in the glowing midair. Tifa only heard the sizzling of the rain on what was left of the bushes and the red-glowing wall, felt her now dry clothes being drenched once again by the welcome iciness of the rain and gulped in the cold air into her scorched lungs. The shooting around them had stopped, she heard Tseng moaning low and realized she was still lying on Rufus' chest. Her heart was hammering madly with dying panic and fear and for a moment, she just continued lying where she was, felt his dry clothes below her face, caught the last whiff of his smell that was still clinging to him and was just relieved that she could still breathing. Slowly, as the hammering of her heart die away, she pushed herself up on her hands, although another feeling commanded her to stay.

There was no sound around them anymore but the sizzling of the rain, the sough of the wind in some trees and the fare away roaring of the flames that were eating up the mansion.

Rufus was moaning lowly, his eyes flickered open as she got up. It seemed to take him an eternity to move at all and only when Tifa looked around herself, she realized that he had to be exhausted nearly to the brim of death. Around them – apart from a small area where she, Rufus and Tseng had been lying – everything was burning or smouldering. The puddles were smoking and the bushes behind the wall where a single bonfire. Even trees a few metres off where still burning, the earth was black, the rain mingled with ashes. The mansion they had left behind – thought not entirely Rufus' fault – was burning like a stake. A few single soldiers where still groping around, but away from them, which was perhaps the good news. That bad news that she thought that a few of them had been too close. She didn't take a closer look, however, but rather turned to Tseng who seemed to be more unconscious than conscious. That he – and she – hadn't been reduced to a smoking pile of ashes was close to a wonder. Although Rufus' idea clearly had done the job – Tseng wasn't bleeding anymore – Tseng's entire left side had been burned badly, his arm almost unrecognizable. While he would stay alive a little longer now, it was clear that he needed materia as badly as before.

As did Rufus, she suspected. An attack of this scale must have come close to killing him. She kneeled down next to Tseng and felt the Turk's pulse. It was weak but at least, it seemed to be steady and when she touched him, it seemed as if the Turk slipped into entire unconsciousness which was perhaps the best thing he could do. She put out the rain-jacket she had stolen from a servant and spread it over Tseng when she felt the Turk's mobile vibrating in the pocket. She didn't hesitate to feel for it; whoever it was, he would be able to get help. And help they needed badly; Rufus had managed in the meantime to somehow struggle to his knees and was retching, just barely stopping himself from collapsing against the wall, shivering in the pouring rain and it was clear that he wasn't going to move anywhere from here on his own. Moving Tseng was even beyond discussion. Both of them, so much was clear, needed an ambulance. Or at least materia.

When she had fumbled the mobile out of the pocket, though, it stopped ringing. In next moment, and even before she could think about even calling back, her own mobile rang and made her jump.

"Yes?" She whispered into the mouthpiece.

"Tifa? Is that you? What is wrong? Tseng isn't picking up his phone and – there was a huge explosion and – what has happened? Is everyone alright?" Elena sounded very close to panicking.

"Elena! Where are you? – We are … alright." At least, they weren't dead.

"I'm… I'm still waiting by the car!"

"Can you get in through the fence?"

"I've blown a hole into it… close to a gate behind a bush in case you would be in a hurry. I'm so glad I reached you! Are you really alright? Can I talk to Tseng?"

"Elena, listen, Tseng's badly hurt and Rufus isn't well, either. Do you have any materia in the car? I need you to come here and help me!"

"Oh… oh, good Gaia! I'm coming!"

In the same moment, the connection went dead.

"Is she coming?" Rufus had somehow managed to prop himself up against the wall, his voice was weak, pressed, he looked awfully pale, even in the red flaring light of the mansion. He barely managed to finish his sentence before another seizure rattled him, reduced him to retching once more.

"She's coming." Tifa replied and sat down next to him. He was staring down at Tseng now, and she felt incredibly sorry for him, incredibly sympathetic, incredibly warm when she looked at him. Wet hair was clinging to his forehead, hanging into his worn eyes, the rain was running down his face and he was positively shivering in the wet clothes. She wasn't sure why her heart was hammering so much when she reached out for his hair, why she still had to think about the way he had told her not to lead when they were dancing, about how it had felt when her head had been resting on his chest and how he was trying even now to keep up his dignity. She knew how much the patients feared the attacks – men and woman she knew to be brave – she knew that Denzel couldn't sleep out of fear he would have a nightmare that would send him into an attack. She knew that Rufus also knew what two attacks in such a short time might kill him.

And yet, he hadn't hesitated a moment to save his friend.

He nodded, weakly, the water dripping from his chin. "That's good." He forced down another seizure, stared at Tseng. "I hope she comes quickly."

"I'm sure she will," Tifa replied with a smile. She had been thinking quite a bit about him the last few days she realized now. She had actually been looking forward to this evening.

They stayed silent for a moment, just the rain hammering down around them, both of them shivering.

"Thank you," Rufus mumbled after a while.

"For what?"

"You stopped me. I would have killed Tseng otherwise."

"It cannot be controlled."

"I know… but…" he didn't continue for a moment, seemed to force another seizure down. "I hope I didn't hurt you?" he mumbled at last, even though very weak, there seemed to be real concern in his voice and she had to smile at it. "No, I'm alright."

Again, silence fell with the icy rain. She couldn't but feel sorry for him. He looked so pathetic, so close to collapsing, seemed so desolated and exhausted, so miserable that she had to force herself not reach out.

"Did you notice I pushed you away?" she asked after yet another moment, to keep herself from actually following her motion, and looked at him sideways. There wasn't much of a mask left on his face.

There was the ghost of a smirk on his face. "Now, I just supposed you were not lying over me because you can't keep your hands off me." He laughed or perhaps he was just caught unaware by another seizure and took a moment before he recovered from retching. "My, this is so pathetic." This time, he really laughed and it didn't end well, either.

"It's okay," she answered and slowly, against all her better judgement, reached out to brush the dripping hair from his face. Pathetic, she thought, was surely the wrong expression. He had run himself to the ground and used the rest of his strength to save a friend's life while he could have saved himself, easily. He had faced what all people with White Geostigma she knew regarded as the worst possible nightmare to save Tseng. There was nothing pathetic about it.

His skin was icy under her touch and he stopped entirely in all his movements – perhaps even breathing – and just looked at her. She couldn't make out much of the colour of his eyes, but they were looking directly into hers, the dying fires around them and the burning mansion reflecting in the irises. His hair, usually so well groomed, was now running over her hand with the rain. His cheek was soft, icy, she brushed the hair further back, behind his ear where it only clung because it was too wet to fall back, couldn't take here eyes from his, and slowly leaned closer, her hand moving to his nape. She felt the wet cloth of his suit, his wet hair, the rain, felt him shivering with the cold, saw the exhaustion in his eyes, the fine curve of his nose, felt his eyes on her face, leaned forward, close enough to feel his breath on her lips, saw a drop running down over his lips.

He tasted strange, bitter, a little of soot, blood and exhausting. His lips were cold against hers, soft, replying hesitantly, kissed her when she moved back, softly.

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_Thank you very much for reading again. The next chapter will be about Reeve who faces a difficult decision. _

_I'd really like to know what you think about this chapter. I do like action-scenes but as in the last chapter, I'm not quite sure whether they are really ... not too unrealistic. So, I'd be glad if you could offer me some advices.  
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	27. Aftermath

_This chapter is quite short, I'm sorry to say, but it didn't have much time this week. It deals with about two minutes in the life of Reeve.

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Chapter 27: Reeve: Aftermath

Reeve sat in his office, staring out over the vast town. He could see fires burning in some places, heard sirens and the rain that was hammering against the panels.

In front of him, on the desk, stood the recorder with the tape in it they had recorded from Tseng's or rather Rufus' mobile. It would be enough to convict most of the so called nobility. Even the best lawyer on all Gaia wouldn't be able to talk them out of this.

They had also tapped several phones. Or rather, Shin-Ra had. It was of course Shin-Ra that knew how to do _that_. Reeve had been against the taping from the beginning but now, all this data was very tempting; those phone calls had made evident that the riot raging downtown had been long planned and set up. The aim of it was certainly to take Shin-Ra down and free the nobility from Rufus' fangs. Rufus, who had entangled himself in his own double game and his own arrogance. Rufus, who still had provided WRO with every proof they needed to stop the White-Geostigma-murders. Rufus, who had said that he wanted the nobility put to trial. If he meant it, Reeve didn't know. But it didn't matter. He would make sure that the nobility's fall wouldn't be Rufus but a decent court that convicted them of all their crimes.

Shin-Ra would fall once again, too, stumbling over Rufus' overconfidence and, finally, the people's payback for before Meteor. WRO would be the one laughing in the end.

And yet, he would own everything to Shin-Ra. To Rufus, who already financed WRO to such a degree that without his money, they would be helpless.

Did that even matter? Only if Rufus survived, Reeve thought. And would he survive? Or was he already dead? He could well be dead. With that fire raging, with all the shots that had been fired, with that hate of the nobility, was there even a chance of surviving?

But Rufus was like a mangy cat; every time you thought him dead or taken care of, he would appear somewhere else.

The mansion of the Fontainebleaus was on fire, burning down in these very moments. His commanding officer had just called in that they had captured most of the wanted people, only missing out Manuel Fontainebleau, his daughter and Ennio Scipione. But according to the records from the phone calls, Ennio Scipione was in Kalm at the moment. As for Manuel Fontainebleau and his daughter… Reeve knew well enough that Rufus had killed them. He had heard five shots on Rufus' tape, four of them most likely fired by himself. After them, there hadn't been a sound from Fontainebleau anymore and Isolde had begged for her life, only to be silenced moments after that. Whatever had happened before, that had been nothing but brutal murder and Reeve felt sickened, horrified by the idea of it. If he could help it, Rufus would be convicted for that, too.

Outside, Reeve could see the riot spreading. The rain was red with the fires, what little he could see of the sky was aflame. From the tapped phone calls, he knew that WRO wasn't in much of a danger unless things went completely out of hand. But at the moment, with the returning forces from the Fontainebleau's mansion there were still more than enough police forces that hadn't joint the riot and that were helping to contain it.

Reeve reached out for the phone to order his forces to disperse the riot and protect Shin-Ra tower. One call was all it would take to have his highly armed forces move out again. But he hesitated.

At the moment, the riot was just destruction. There weren't many White-Geostigma-infected in the town and mostly, they had been able to separate them from the riot and bring them into safety. In their anger, people were now turning against Shin-Ra tower. If he sent in units to disperse the demonstration, many people would be injured and a lot of them killed, too. As long as he contained the riot to where it was now, as long as he didn't order interference, few people would be badly wounded and he wouldn't face serious problems when it turned out that he didn't have enough people to disperse the riot. Then, it would spread over the entire town.

No, he had to be honest with himself. He most likely had enough people to disperse the riot. And, really, he owned it to Shin-Ra. This time, Shin-Ra wasn't responsible for the misery, this time, they had done the uttermost to make things better. They were serving him the culprits of the murderers and the initiators of this riot on a silver plate. Thanks to their money, his forces were strong enough to withstand this riot and to contain it to just downtown.

Still, his hand already on the phone, he hesitated to pick it up and give the order. He knew he was nothing but a scrub, but all the time he had been with Avalanche as Cait Sith, he had watched Tifa. The extended attention she had been giving Cloud, how she had looked at Cloud. After Cloud's disappearance, he had hoped, deep down inside him, that she would, one day, look at him in the same way.

But she hadn't. Instead, he had detected a similar behaviour towards Rufus. Her questions when he had helped her choosing the dress had been in essence whether _Rufus_ would like the dress.

Every other man he would have been able to tolerate. Every other man he would have been able to stand or wish her all possible happiness with. But not Rufus. Didn't she see that he was just playing one of his mind-games with her? Didn't she see that he was trying to make her depended? Didn't she see that all he said were, in essence, just lies to get back what he had lost? Rufus was nothing but a blunt murder – had proven so again today. He hadn't changed. Not a bit. Everything he did was because he wanted Shin-Ra to become that big, totalitarian company again it had been before. He hadn't learned from his mistakes, he had just shifted his shape.

And Reeve couldn't tolerate the thought of Tifa being used by such a man. Who would drop her the moment she had served her purpose. Why did Tifa even buy his lies? Why was she even interested in Rufus and his brutal schemes and not in him, Reeve, who was always nice to her and who always backed her up?

And then, there was Denzel who seemed to positively admire Rufus. There was nothing on earth Reeve wished for so much as that he could have been able to protect the boy – that he had stopped him from just running away. Or that it had been him who had saved him. Not Rufus.

But now, the boy was talking about nothing else then working for Shin-Ra, asking when they were going to see Rufus and his Turks again. He had never beamed as much as when Rufus had ruffled his hair.

And Marlene was positively in love with Rude.

Reeve asked himself if Tifa really didn't know that she was falling for the greatest lie that had ever come to life.

He couldn't allow Shin-Ra to become mighty once again. It would be Meteor all over.

No, maybe it was best if Shin-Ra lost their HQ in Edge and if all the certificates of landownership were destroyed, burned or taken together with the building.

He would have to be excessively sorry about his units being too late. On the other hand, he wasn't good at lying. Rufus would certainly detect something… well, he would detect that he, Reeve, was feeling guilty. Perhaps that was the advantage of being good; you constantly felt guilty about something, so Rufus would most likely be unable to tell what exactly he was feeling guilty about now. Hopefully. On the other hand, Rufus couldn't stop cooperating with WRO.

That was impossible.

No, it was best for the world if he didn't call his forces out just yet.

Reeve withdrew his hand from the phone. He was going to inform himself about the situation now and then, he would perhaps send out the units.

He turned but hesitated.

It was all nonsense. He was nothing but jealous. Rufus was a bastard, so much for sure, but it was undeniable that he _had_ changed and that he _was_ trying to make up again. There was no other reason why he would finance WRO, otherwise.

And there was the question whether he had survived at all. Reeve knew he could hope Rufus hadn't. But he couldn't take out his anger on the back of all those people who worked for Shin-Ra and were maybe even in danger of their lives.

Reeve gave a sigh and picked up the phone. "Send out our units and disperse the demonstration. Don't use fire arms and try to harm the protesters as little as possible. Try to protect Shin-Ra tower, too."

He received a short answer from the other end of the telephone and put it down again, feeling like a scrub that he had hesitated even those few moments to do so.

It sucked being good.

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_I hope you enjoyed. The next chapter will be dealing with Tseng again and what happened to him._

_Please review^^  
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	28. Raison d'être

_Please enjoy!_

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Chapter 28: Tseng: Raison d'être

Tseng was floating far above the world. His mind was mild, engulfed by perfect indifference as he was looking down on them. He didn't remember what had happened before and he didn't know where he was. He was just floating somewhere in that bright, warm light above everything else. Everything else, that was at the moment a lanky man with red hair comforting a woman with blond hair that was weeping furiously. But neither did the sound of the words reach him nor did her crying. Everything else, that were those people in pastel-green coats hasting up and down, but the haste didn't touch him. Where he was, there was no need for urgency. Where he was, there was just that soft nothingness engulfing his ears in its internal rhythm.

He turned back, watching the pair in that brightly lit room below him. They were somewhat interesting. Or, maybe, he was less indifferent to them than to everything else. It was so soft and warm around him, the light so mellow, so beautiful… he supposed he was dead.

He had to be dead, he thought. He had been hit by a bullet, straight through his stomach, and it had bleed tremendously. He remembered Rufus trying to stop the bleeding. How he had begged him not to die, tears, desperation, his own fright. And then, there had been something very, very painful. Tseng supposed that this must have been the moment when he had died and in an indifferent way, he felt sorry about it. He had left Rufus alone and he had left Elena alone. Elena who was weeping below him. Somewhere, through all his indifference, both thoughts didn't leave him indifferent at all.

But if he was dead, why was he still conscious? Shouldn't he have returned to the life-stream?

He remembered a tale his mother had once told him. When he had been afraid of ghosts who would steal him, she had said he shouldn't fear but pity ghosts; they were people who couldn't leave because there was something left undone.

How strange, he thought and remembered the gibbous moon of that night, how strange that he should turn into such a ghost himself.

But what had he left undone?

Elena was crying again. And he didn't know where Rufus was. If he was really dead, Rufus should be in that room below him, too. But maybe, Rufus was in another part of the building, dealing with things. Rufus always dealt with things if he didn't know what else to do. For a moment, Tseng felt the strong urge to go, look for him, just to make sure he was safe, but he couldn't leave Elena. He couldn't just leave her sitting there, being so desperately miserable. Wasn't there something he could do to make her less miserable? Or even Reno whom he had rarely seen that worried before?

But they were grieving because he was dead. If he could cheer them up, they wouldn't be grieving to begin with, because he wouldn't be dead, then. Something close to panic rose inside him. He couldn't stand to see them that way, those who had fought side by side with him. Elena, who was just daring to look at him again. Elena, whom he had just dared to look at again so recently. Naïve, beautiful and yet so strong Elena. Elena in the pale moonlight.

It would be impossible for him to relieve them and with a jolt of sudden panic, he wanted to dart away, to look for Rufus, but in the same moment it came to him that Rufus had to be in a similar state as they were. He remembered the desperation in Rufus' face when his charge had absolutely refused to leave him for dead and save his own life and suddenly, cold fear seized him. Was Rufus really dealing with things? Why wasn't he here?

He wanted to ask, to make sure that at least, even if desperately sad, all those he cared about where alright, but he couldn't open his mouth. The indifference around him didn't let him move even his tongue and Elena was still crying below him, Rufus gone.

He had to do something. He couldn't leave things like this. What had first seemed to him like perfect happiness – the perfect indifference to all bodily needs – wasn't more than a horrible nightmare. Only being conscious, he couldn't relieve them, couldn't comfort, couldn't help. He at least had to make sure that Rufus was alright.

He tried to dart away, tried to flee the room, away from them, but in the same moment, he realized that he wasn't only incapable of speaking, he was also incapable of moving anywhere, bound to this spot at the ceiling with the perfect internal rhythm of nothingness in his ears.

No. Not rhythm of nothingness. There was a continuous beeping. The continuous sound of laboured breathing. The soft sound of a murmur of words and silent sobbing. He wasn't hovering below the ceiling although he was very much tied up.

He had never been as relieved as when he realized that he was tied to a body and that his body was hurting like hell. That the moon would shine upon him again. 

_Elena_

"Elena."

The word wasn't more than a whisper on a breath, nearly drowned out by the beeping of the instruments and rasping of the machine which pumped air into his lungs. It hurt to move his lips. Out of the edge of his eye, he saw the heaving, slender shoulders in the dark Turk's uniform.

"Elena," he repeated. He tried to reach out with his hand, for her shoulders, to stop her from sobbing, a touch that, under the silvery moon, had been sufficient when only long enough, but all his body could manage was to barely move his lips, breath a little more moisture against the mask that covered his face. Pain was raging through his side. His mind was puffy from the fading morphine. They were preparing him for an operation, he thought.

He asked himself why his entire side hurt as if it had been torn away by a wild beast.

He asked himself why he was still alive.

For a moment, the world went black again in front of his eyes, but when they flickered open again, he saw Elena looking at him, eyes reddened, the trace of tears on her dirty face. She looked tired, desperate, exhausted, but when their eyes met, she smiled at him as if there was no worry in the world.

"Tseng! You are awake! I'm so glad you are awake! I'm so glad you are…" She stopped herself, turned her face away, then back to him and even through the clouds of floating pain he saw her hiding a sob. "…alive."

"Rufus?" He mumbled. Under the pale light of the moon, she hadn't hid her sobs and it had been much better that way.

"What are you saying?" Elena leaned closer and Tseng could almost feel her hair on his face.

"Rufus?" He repeated again, had to force himself to move his lips.

"Na, Elena, don't lean on Tseng, eh!" he heard Reno drawled from the other end of the room. "What's he saying, yo?"

"I'm sorry, I can't tell!" She answered and leaned even closer, so close that Tseng's eyes couldn't focus, and he closed his eyes to summon enough strength to ask again, closed his eyes to feel her close again. But even before he could move his lips, he felt a slight whisper on his ear conch, strangely intense, strangely soft, a faint trickle of her warm breath. "He's alive. Don't worry."

Even before he was sure of the words, Elena had moved away again, smiling at him, her eyes full of worry herself. "I'm sorry, Senpai, I really can't tell what you're saying." She said it in such a soft voice as if she was caressing him with the words.

"Maybe he's in pain?" Reno suggested. Tseng only caught half of it, pain surging high, the relief great enough to close his eyes again. From somewhere far away he heard Reno suggest that he could get a doctor for more morphine and Elena explained to him that they had to wait until he had stabilized before they could perform an operation and use more materia.

Drifting slowly away again, he asked himself why he would need so much materia and why his entire side was hurting – he had only been shot through the stomach and the operation should have been straight forward. But then again, it was a miracle to be alive anyway.

* * *

When he opened his eyes again, most of the pain had ceased. He felt the slight dizziness of recent treatment with materia, the slight dizziness of too much blood lost and the exhaustion of an operation. His focus was much clearer and both the beeping of the machines and the mask on his face had disappeared.

Elena was still sitting next to his bed. She seemed to have fallen asleep, head on his blanket, and he felt her hand around his. Careful not to wake her, he slowly closed his hand around hers, too, regretting that this wasn't anything he could ever do when she was awake. A superior officer and his employee dating, that would never answer. In the harsh light of the hospital, he could see lines on her face, draw before her years. Her face was still slightly dirty although she seemed to have washed it. Her hair was falling into her face, uncombed. He could have watched the slight movement of her hair in her breath for hours without end.

They couldn't talk, but Rufus was okay.

He was hospitalized and badly hurt, but his Turks were alright.

Elena was asleep, but that gave him all the time in the world to just look at her.

It was strange how few things it needed to be happy when 24 hours before, he had been sick with worry.

Now, he had no idea what had happened. Well, after the conversation he had overheard from Rufus' mobile, he had a pretty good idea what must have happened and yet, he didn't care.

He wasn't even sure he was angry at Rufus. Of course, Rufus in his endless unthinking had been reckless enough to follow a bunch murderers right into a trap although he had made very clear that he hadn't wanted him to do anything reckless. But in essence, it was his job to keep Rufus safe and not only had Rufus paid a high price for his recklessness, he, Tseng, had also nearly failed to protect him. He shouldn't have agreed to let him go to that party. He should have seen it coming, even if Rufus had promised.

Tseng shook the thought off. It didn't matter. Begin alive mattered. Rufus' desperation mattered. Elena's tears. Her calm face now. The feeling of her warm hand in his.

He heard steps and looked up, saw Reno entering. Rude was leaning to the doorframe. He must have been leaning there for quite some time already. It always surprised him how calmly the Turk could become one with his entire surrounding only by not moving.

Tseng carefully let go of Elena's hand so they wouldn't see and forced himself to put his finger onto his lips to stop Reno from waking Elena, but the movement itself must have woken her for only when he had managed touch his lips, her eyes drowsily flickered open. When she realized that he was looking at her (as was everyone else, but he supposed that his gaze mattered especially to her), she darted up, blushed, smoothed her hair back and tried to look awake.

"I'm sorry, Tseng-san! I… I, um…. Good to see you awake! – I wasn't sleeping or anything!"

"Cause not, Sis!" Reno laughed from the other end of the room. "You know, Senpai, she's been here like – the whole night – never closed an eye before they hadn't fixed you up, yo! Stayed here since dawn, too. Tugged your blanked nice, opened the curtains, arranged the flowers – even bought you a get-well-card, yo!"

Elena blushed even more, looking from Tseng to Reno, Tseng noticed she didn't dare to look back at him for more than a tiny second. "Reno! Don't talk like that!" She was crimson by now.

"I appreciate it." Tseng tried to say but his voice was somewhat sluggish, his throat felt as if he had been in a burning building for too long, but what he said wasn't close to the happiness he felt. It was so typical Elena to fuss even when she was half asleep herself. The flowers looked like being far from well arranged. He tried to sit up to get a better view of them and the get well card of which he was sure that both Reno and Rude had signed, too, after they had made Elena write it, but the movement was far too laborious to even start the movement. Besides, his left arm was hellishly painful, still, and he couldn't move it. It had to be badly wounded and strapped to his body. But he wasn't quite sure how that related to the shot that had hit him through the stomach. "What happened?"

Suddenly, even Reno was wearing a serious expression and the cheerful atmosphere in the room died as fast as a man with cyanide-poisoning.

"Uhm…," Elena started at last, looking at him and looking away again. "Well…"

"Yo, Senpai," Reno started in the same instance and cut her short. "Things downtown've gone pretty bad!" He straightened up. "Yesterday night, a riot started. I mean, not that tiny thingy we had the last few weeks, yo, but a real one. Someone just got up somewhere, guy called Scipione, some high-society shit-head, Reeve says, made some calls 'round town and suddenly, streets were full. First, they just, you know, killed all those white-spotted poor devils they got and then, no money, no better life, no wonders happening, they got really angry, went downtown, started looting and stuff and then, some weirdo called them, told them 'Shin-Ra's done all that sh… ehm… Shin-Ra's responsible for all that sh… ehm… mess, yo, go, get 'em'. I mean, I don't know what they was thinkin', but they went downtown and just sieged the tower. Took them, like, hours, but, I mean, that tower ain't from diamante, so they got in, burned it to the ground, all the papers on the street on fire. We did evacuate, right after we picked you up, and only just in time, yo! And Reeve like 'yes, already sent everything we got downtown, but can't use fire-weapons, not wanna kill no one'. You ask me, he send in them police-forces way too late. Till they beat the sh- mess – out of them rioters, tower was burnin' already, like a bonfire. Reeve sent in fire fighters, too, but too late. Tower's gone, yo…. Everything just – gone. Burned. Nothing left…killed anything with Shin-Ra on it…" Reno didn't sound very cheerful anymore. His entire account hadn't been really cheerful and now, he looked as cross as everyone else in the room.

Tseng gave a weak nod. He would have preferred it if Elena had told the story, Reno being quite difficult to keep track of, but he wasn't really surprised, not after the conversation he had overheard on Rufus' phone. He had expected something like that. Perhaps not that bad – he had hoped Reeve would be quick enough, have enough of a spine, to also defend Shin-Ra tower. But still, it took him a few minutes to get over the fact that everything they had built up, everything they had worked for in these last few months was nothing more than a smoking pile of ashes. Again. Everything they and especially Rufus had worked for, just gone again. He only hoped that those copies of all the contracts they kept in Junon were worth something.

Rufus had to be devastated.

"Where's Rufus?" He asked, more for the show then for information. His Turks were not worried about him and the soft 'he's alive' Elena had whispered into his ear was still with him. He wasn't that stupid, he could add up one and one and thought he had quite a good idea who might have volunteered to look after Rufus. And certainly, that wasn't a bad choice. Nobody would suspect _her_. It certainly was a good idea to stay under cover as long as people were witch-hunting New-Geostigma-infected. And Reeve would be a lot more cooperative if Rufus was missing – his company needed Rufus' money.

Rude just shook his head but it was Elena who spoke this time. "I'm sorry, Senpai… we don't know where he is. – He wasn't there when we found you and Tifa."

Tseng nodded. So Rufus was definitely with Tifa. He suspected very much that he was in Reeve's hospital and although he knew Reeve felt above ears dropping on conversation, he might not feel above listening to conversations that had been recorded already and were 'important'. So, it was a good idea of his Turks not to have told him openly about Rufus, yet.

"We are doing our uttermost to find him and Reeve has already offered help."

Tseng gave another nod, trying to look cross which wasn't too difficult when he thought about the second destruction of Shin-Ra.

"How did I get her?" He asked slowly. _Why am I still alive?_ "What happened?" He turned to Elena.

Again, his question wasn't meet with any cheerful expressions, even Reno looked more than serious.

It was Elena, however, who started, and this time, Reno didn't interrupt her. "I got a call from Tifa when I was waiting for you. You know, after you sent me to pick you up. Reeve's people had started attacking the front by then and there was a heavy fire fight going on, so I just took a grenade and blew a hole into the fence… you know…make an escape route. And then, I waited but… you didn't come. There was only a big explosion and I grew worried, so I called you, but you didn't pick up and then, I called Tifa. I mean, she was like, cool, but somehow, she was frantic, wanted materia. Told me you were badly hurt. There was no materia in the car, so, I called Reno, told him to get a medical team. But our medics couldn't come, Reno said. So, he and Rude came with a helicopter. I was really worried by then, because there had been this huge explosion and Tifa didn't call back and the fire fight was still going on. When we got there, everything was burning, still, and Tifa was with you. You were really in a bad state and everything was burning around you. But Reno and Rude had materia and so, they took you here. Tifa told me that Rufus had disappeared after he had tried to… to… to cauterise …" Elena's voice broke off and Tseng had no clue why that was the case. Or why there were tears on her face. But then, slowly, evil understanding clawed itself into his mind. Rufus, bloody, unthinking fool that he was, must have wilfully caused another materia-attack to close his wound. He remembered well what Tifa had told them about these New-Geostigma attacks and that Rufus had had one only shortly before. And that they could leave their victims in a terrible state. He had mistaken. Rufus wasn't hiding with Tifa so the mob and everyone else – including maybe Reeve – could think him dead. He was incapable of going somewhere else. How could Rufus be so foolish as to risk his own life – ruin his own life – just to safe him?

"I'm… I'm sorry," Elena brushed some tears away, Rude was already standing at her side, holding a tissue towards her. "It's only…. The doctors say Rufus really did save your life, but…," she gave a sob again, "I'm so sorry about your arm, Tseng-san! They really did everything, they said…!"

In the same moment, it came to Tseng that, for his arm to be strapped to his body, underarm and hand should have been lying across his stomach and that they weren't. Nor did the blanket show any sign of any arm on his left side.

* * *

_I hope you liked it. The next chapter is going to be from Tifa's point of view, so we'll at last find out how Rufus is doing presently._

_Please review if you liked it and also if you didn't._


	29. Act of Love

_So, at last, the next chapter… been very busy the last few days. The tests are really going to kill me one of these times!_

_The chapter turned out to be a tad bit long once again, but I hope you won't mind!_

_Please enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 29: Tifa: Act of Love

The morning came quietly, so quietly that the early hours stole themselves away without Tifa even noticing. She woke when the first rays of sun fell into the room and drew their warm pattern onto the wooden floor and the rough wall. It was warm inside the room, what little air came in through the window and moved the curtains open to shatter the light was not enough to cool the room down. The air carried the smell of stale smoke with it, recently burned buildings, recent violence, rain that hadn't been enough to wash away the traces of the night.

Rufus was breathing easily in Cloud's bed next to hers, although his face was pulled into a slight frown. He was mumbling something and perhaps, it had been that what had woken her. But she couldn't really distinguish what it was he was saying and smiled a little. Maybe, it was Wutain.

Sleep was deceiving. It could turn the greatest criminals into mere men. The blond hair was banging in to Rufus' face, paled away to faint orange in the bright light, one of the strands moving in his breath and for a moment, she felt tempted to lean over and wake him, just to see how he looked when he woke, but then decided against it; after all that had happened yesterday, he could do very well with all the sleep he could get.

Still, for a moment, she stayed seated on the edge of her bed and just looked at him. She still remembered how Elena, Reno and Rude had suddenly appeared out of the streaming rain, how desperate Elena had been about Tseng's state, how solemn even Reno had looked and how exhausted Rufus had still been even after Rude had used the materia on him. Reno and Elena had transported Tseng off to Reeve's hospital and she wasn't sure the Turk had made it. They had treated him with materia, but even so, his pulse had been precareously weak. She remembered how Rude had told them afterwards, in the car, about the riot downtown and that the Shin-Ra tower was about to be stormed. That Reeve hadn't sent in any troupes, yet. Rude had told Rufus that, most likely, he would be loosing his company once again and that the mob was demanding his head. And Rufus had just ordered the tower to be evacuated. She still didn't understand how he could have taken the news so calmly. But maybe, he had just been too exhausted to care. No, she thought. If he had been too exhausted, he wouldn't have come up with the idea to let his Turks hide that he had survived.

And she had suggested that he should hide at her house until further notice. Nobody would be looking here for him, she thought. Hoped.

She still saw him there lying on the bed, too tired to even wrap the blanket around him. The scarred skin, the shoulder and the left arm that had nearly turned to blue. She still felt his lips, their icy softness, the fire on his breath, the taste of ashes.

_Tifa?_ He had mumbled her name when she had spread the blanket over him, when she had thought him asleep already. _I'm not using you, I love you, you know?_

She wasn't even sure if he had been still conscious enough to know what he was saying.

He was beautiful, she thought. Not in the way Cloud was, by no means. While Cloud's eyes were soft, his eyes were like steal. He was thinner than Cloud, maybe even smaller, but he stood tall in his black and white clothes. As if he still owned the world. As if there was no one he would ever be willing to bow for. Cloud's expression was kind, Rufus smirked, contemptuously.

She got up, smiled at the sleeping form and left the room with a last look back from the door.

In the bathroom, she changed into fresh clothes, made sure the other clothes hung in a way that they could dry better and went into the kitchen to take care of breakfast – lunch, rather, her heart hammering. Maybe, Rufus would wake from the sounds she made. Maybe, he would come and join her. She had put out some of Cloud's clothes for him.

But the only sound that raised her was the doorbell when she had half set the table.

Quickly, almost in haste, she let the plate and the silverware designated for Rufus disappear into the cupboard and closed the door to the bedroom on her way down to open the door.

It was already ringing a third time when she arrived and she was pretty anxious that it might have woken Rufus – hoped very much it hadn't and also hoped very much that it wasn't anything serious.

A look through the glass of her window only assured her that it was Reeve, accompanied by Marlene and a solemn looking Rude on whose hand Marlene was hanging, babbling vividly as it seemed.

Tifa was about to open the door when she hesitated a moment – did Reeve know that Rufus was with her? _Was_ he even supposed to know? She wasn't sure why he shouldn't be but decided that it was better to keep silent about Rufus' whereabouts until she was certain that Rufus didn't mind Reeve hearing about it.

"Hello," she opened the door to them. "Come on in!"

"Hello, Tifa!" Marlene jumped down from Rude's arm and came to embrace her. "Reeve said terrible things happened last night – I saw them! The sky was burning! It was like with Mako again, only, it was red! And Rude, Rude says terrible things have happened, too, don't you, Rude?"

The giant nodded and their eyes met. Terrible things, indeed. Tifa remembered Tseng's burned body, Rufus' exhaustion, the red-glowing sky over the town, the raging rain that couldn't extinguish the fire or the hate. The raging rain that hadn't even been able to wash everything away. Her own desperation when Tseng had been dying under Rufus' hand.

The coldness of the kiss.

"She totally wanted to come," Reeve excused her presence. "Pick up toys and books…"

"Have you heard about Rufus?" Tifa asked, just to make sure.

Reeve shook his head. "No… he really seems to have gone missing yesterday night. Unless… well, are you _sure_ they didn't get him?"

Tifa looked back, tried to look rather cross. "Of course I'm sure! You should have been there, Reeve! He nearly burned everything to the ground! It was a mayhem! And inferno! Look at Tseng! I could barely hide behind a wall!" Someone tell her that Rufus wasn't a bad influence. Now she was lying just like him.

Reeve frowned a little but nodded. "I'm glad you're okay."

"How is Denzel?" She quickly changed the topic.

Reeve smiled. "He seems quite well. At the moment, he's asleep again. The doctors tell me he might be well enough to leave tomorrow, but I'm not sure, really. He's still almost too weak to walk. If you don't mind, I'd suggest that he stays at WRO-headquarters … in the current situation."

Tifa nodded. "That's very considerate! Thanks, Reeve!… how is Tseng?"

Reeve's face darkened a little. "Listen, Tifa, I have to talk to you."

"Okay?" She said, knowing fully well that he meant 'alone' but wasn't quite sure how to arrange that.

Rude looked up and pointed with his head at the door as if he was on his way out, anyway. "Don't worry. Is all well?"

"Oh, do you really _have_ to go?" Marlene whined.

"Marlene, come, I'm sure you've bothered Rude more than enough. Collect your things from upstairs, will you? - Yes, everything is well. Thank you for your concern."

"If you remember something about Rufus, call us."

Tifa nodded. "Of course I will, don't worry."

Rude nodded and left. Tifa wasn't sure he wouldn't be back soon. He had looked that way.

Reeve waited until the door had closed behind him.

"Listen, Tifa, the situation is more than bad at the moment. You need to leave the town! You need to get the children to Kalm… and Rufus… well, to be honest, I don't think he… well… I'm cordially sorry to say that but – we would have found him until now."

Tifa was silent, not knowing what she should say and Reeve didn't seem exactly sad.

"So, he was infected, too?" Reeve continued.

She nodded.

Reeve shook his head, as if he wanted to say that that made it even more unlikely that he had survived. "It's not good. He made a will after Meteor, did you know? He made me believe so far that he would donate his entire empire to WRO. The problem is, his will clearly states that he has an heir."

"A child?"

Reeve shook his head. "His Head-Turk, Tseng."

"Tseng…" Somehow, she wasn't entirely surprised. "What's wrong with that?"

"Tseng is alright, but…" Reeve shook his head. "You know I like Tseng better than Rufus; Tseng's more reasonable, but… well, you know that Tseng and Rufus were almost inseparable. I don't know how deep their relationship really ran – runs – but in the Turk-codex, loyalty and honour rank very high and I think in the codex of Wutai even higher. Much above the value of your own life. I'm… I'm afraid that Tseng might want to take revenge for Rufus and subordinate everything to that revenge. But we can't have a change in policy at the moment, do you see? Rufus collaborated with us on so many projects! A change in policy would be disastrous. – Beside, Rufus must be put to trial, too."

Tifa frowned, deeply. She had no idea what Reeve was talking about. "Don't you think that he has paid enough for Meteor already?"

Reeve shook his head. "Not for Meteor. I mean… have you heard the tape? He shot Isolde Fontainebleau and her father – just like that. – That's, that's just blunt murder! We can't let him get away with that! As soon as their bodies are recovered from the mansion, we'll also have the proofs."

Tifa studied Reeve, narrowed her eyes, doubted. Reeve looked very much as if he was telling the truth but… well, she knew what kind of man Rufus had been. But, he had changed, hadn't he? He wasn't like that anymore. They had tried to kill him and he had defended himself. Didn't he have a right to defend himself? Draw faster than others? She had seen what they had done to him. They had shot him, broken his arm and dislocated his shoulder and then, they had almost drowned him.

"Well," she said at last, feeling still unbalanced. "Rufus is dead, isn't he? So, I don't think it matters anymore."

Reeve stared at her for a moment. He looked somewhat hurt and Tifa had the feeling that she had somehow answered too harshly.

"No… I mean, yes. I mean… he's a murderer, Tifa. Just like his Turks. He's not better than any of them and … if you'd only heard the tape! We can't just tolerate murder in our new world!"

Tifa gave a short nod. She felt perturbed, somewhat angry. She knew that Reeve didn't like Rufus very much, but couldn't imagine that Reeve possessed the malignancy to frame him. Yes, she didn't know the tape. But she knew what they had done to Rufus and it made her angry to hear Reeve talk about him like that. She herself had acted often enough out of self-defence.

"Yes," she just replied.

Reeve breathed out, somewhat relieved. "So, if you remember anything about where he might be, where he could have gone to…"

Tifa shook her head, more determined now. "I'm sorry… I really don't know… that is… I mean, possibly, he would have headed home, wouldn't he? To Shin-Ra tower."

Reeve's face darkened. "Shin-Ra tower doesn't exist anymore."

"Oh…" Tifa made, even more shocked now. Of course, after Rude's account yesterday she had expected something similar. But not quite so – final.

"They burned it, yesterday. It is still burning. It will be a while until it's stopped." He shook his head.

"Is Tseng in a very bad way?" She quickly asked that question before Reeve could add something and maybe ask her again about Rufus' whereabouts.

Reeve shook his head. "Not… not anymore. Materia took care of most of it. It was a horrible wound – two horrible wounds, I'm told. But it probably saved his life…. Still… I'm told his arm was too badly burned to be saved." Again, he shook his head. "He wants to go to Junon already, but I think they won't let him go before tomorrow… we haven't informed him about Rufus, yet… - Tifa, I'm so glad you are safe! I'm so glad he didn't hurt you, too!"

She smiled, somewhat stiffly.

"Will you come back to the HQ with us? I mean, your house hasn't been harmed and there won't be another riot tonight, so you really don't need to worry anymore. I'm sure the children would be delighted!"

Tifa shook her head. "I can't." _I've got Rufus lying upstairs and he would take it really badly if I just left…_ "I need to take care of some things. – I need to open the bar again sometime soon. Got to prepare things, take care of the bills, Reeve. I'll… I'll come tomorrow, okay?"

Reeve looked disappointed. "The children will be disappointed, I'm sure."

Tifa gave a sigh, suspecting that Reeve himself would be the most disappointed of them. "I promise I'll come tomorrow, but, really, Reeve, it can't be helped! I _have_ to work a little!"

Reeve gave a sigh and got up. "Okay. Alright. I understand."

Upstairs, Tifa could hear Marlene coming running down the corridor, by the sound of it carrying several things, and just a moment later, she appeared with her bag from which her box of crayons stuck and – Tifa noticed with a leap of her heart – Denzel's old teddy-bear.

She came racing straight at Tifa. "I can't find my book!"

"Which book?"

"The one about Ohsa the Viking!"

It was lying next to her bed, Tifa remembered with a jolt. She had left it lying there after she had read it to Marlene and Denzel in the evening the last time they had been here. But she could impossibly tell her it was there without Marlene running up and getting it – and finding Rufus. Suddenly, she was sick with the lies she was telling. Sick with lying at Reeve. Sick with herself for lying for Shin-Ra, even though it was Rufus.

"Didn't we take it with us last time?"

"No." Marlene shook her head. "I looked, it isn't there."

"Are you sure?"

Marlene nodded vehemently. "Absolutely. I had Denzel look, too!"

"And it wasn't in your room?"

Marlene shook her head.

"Hm. I'll look for it, okay? And if I find it, I'll bring it with me tomorrow."

"Tomorrow? Aren't you coming with us _now_?"

Tifa shook her head. "I'm sorry, I can't, Marlene. I have to open the bar today evening."

"But Reeve said you'll come!" She clung to Reeve to underline her statement.

"I'm sorry, I really can't."

"Then, I'll stay here, too!"

"I'm sure that's a great idea!" Reeve agreed and Tifa hated him for it. It would make the entire situation with Rufus even more difficult. And she would have liked to be alone with him.

"Won't Denzel be lonely?"

"Don't worry, I've promised him to have Cait Sith come and visit him this afternoon."

"I wanna see Cait, too!" Marlene protested.

"He'll be there tomorrow, too," Reeve promised.

Marlene beamed. "Good! I'm staying here!"

Tifa gave a sigh, couldn't think of another argument why Marlene couldn't stay but that Rufus was around. "I won't find much time for you, though, Marlene. I need to clean up."

Marlene hugged her. "Don't worry, Tifa! I'll help you!"

Reeve got up. "So, then, that's settled. I'll have you picked up around noon tomorrow, how does that sound?"

"A little later in the afternoon, maybe? I'll still need to clean up."

Reeve agreed. "If you remember something about Rufus – please tell us."

Tifa assured him she would and was really glad when the door closed behind him; her stomach was protesting angrily against the lack of food and her mind was still occupied with what Reeve had told her about Rufus. Even if Reeve didn't like Rufus, he wasn't a liar and he had really sounded concerned, shocked, even. She would talk to Rufus. Rufus wouldn't just kill for the fun of it, just because she wasn't around looking. Would he? She had to know. There had to be some kind of misunderstanding! And then, she also had to tell him that his valued head-Turk had lost his arm because it had been burned too much and she had no idea how to tell him that without hurting him.

"Na, Marlene, did you already have breakfast?" She turned to Marlene and asked herself how she should explain about Rufus.

Marlene looked at her and frowned. "Of _course_ I had! It's already two o'clock in the afternoon! I already had lunch, too!"

"How about second breakfast, then? I haven't had breakfast, you see? I came home pretty late yesterday and now, I'm a little hungry. So, if you want to, you can join me, hm?"

Marlene beamed. "Yes!"

Tifa stroke over the girl's head and got up. "Let's go, then!"

In the same moment, there was another knock at the door and when she opened it, Rude was standing in front of her again.

"Ruuude!" Marlene piped as if she hadn't seen him in ages which earned her a little smile from Rude.

"Reeve's gone," Rude said.

"Come in," Tifa stepped aside while her stomach protested again.

"We were just about to eat a _second_ breakfast!" Marlene informed Rude proudly.

"I won't keep you long," the Turk turned to Tifa. "How is he?"

"He's still asleep. – At least, he was half an hour ago."

Rude nodded. "We'll come to pick him up tomorrow noon."

Tifa felt a pang of disappointment. "Where are you going to go?"

Rude shrugged. "He'll say. Junon, I guess. Tell him to call if he's awake. Tseng is worried."

Tifa looked at Rude. "Is it true what Reeve said – that he lost his arm?"

Rude looked a little uncomfortable. "Not all of it."

As if that made things much better. For a moment, Tifa didn't know what to say, just remembered how he had almost died yesterday, Rufus' desperation, the fire. "He didn't do it by intend. Please tell Tseng."

Rude gave a nod. "Tell Shachou to call."

Tifa nodded. "I will."

"Good." He nodded and turned to Marlene. "Behave yourself."

Marlene was surprised for a moment, then beamed over her entire face. "Yes! Of course!"

"Bye." The door closed behind the Turk again.

"Who is asleep?" Marlene asked curiously.

Tifa gave a sigh. "Come, let's go get something to eat, first." She turned to go up the stairs and Marlene followed after her.

"Who's asleep?" She repeated.

"Rufus," Tifa replied.

Marlene was quiet for a moment, at least long enough until they had reached the kitchen. Which was long enough for Tifa to check that the door to the bedroom was still closed.

"Isn't he dead?" Marlene asked and climbed onto her chair.

Tifa took the second plate and the silver-ware out of the cupboard again and set them on the table together with another plate for Marlene. "No, he isn't."

At least, the bread she had taken from the refrigerator was almost warm now. At least, warm enough to toast it. She started to put the rest of the food onto the table and decided to boil eggs.

"Is that why the door to your room is closed?" Marlene went on, watching her.

"Yes," she agreed, pouring the rest of the milk into the sink; it had gone sour.

Marlene nodded in agreement. "I think Rufus is good. He saved Denzel _and_ he's Rude's boss. I'm sure he'll be a good father." With that, she pushed two pieced of bread into the toaster.

For a moment, Tifa was completely surprised that Marlene could have actually detected something. Then, it came to her that, despite all her first years in the slums, Marlene didn't know much about the marriage-thing. Or, maybe, and she liked that even less, she knew too much about it and was indeed that good at guessing.

Rufus would make a horrible father, she thought, realized that her heart had been thumbing at that thought.

"I'll go see if he's awake," she said. If her feelings for Rufus weren't just the product of much too much adrenaline, it, of course, was a very important question she had to deal with – he had to get along with the children. With a cold shudder, she remembered that he had been horrible with Denzel before the boy had been shot down. She stopped on the stairway. How could she even be seriously considering Rufus? Cloud would return!

No, she thought. Cloud wouldn't return and by now, that was okay. And Rufus… Rufus was so different in every respect. So much stronger, much more calculating, colder, impetuous in a completely different way. Spoilt. She had to smile. Yes. Spoilt heedless.

Rufus, she was sure, would never promise to be a prince on a white horse who rode into the scene to safe the girl.

Different from Cloud.

Well, perhaps, Rufus would, but he would be lying, then, same as Cloud had been lying. Only, Cloud hadn't known that, in the end, he just wouldn't be able to save her. Rufus, she thought, although maybe able to keep such a promise, wouldn't keep it, because there was nothing in it for him. He had no use for people who only were a burden.

She frowned at that thought. What a bastard. How could she fall for such a bastard? Bastard, maybe, but if he cared as much as he had said he did, same as his Turks and different from Cloud, he would never let her down. Besides, people could change and he had much improved already. Despite everything Reeve had said. She was sure of it.

Although it perhaps wasn't much use, she tiptoed over the corridor to the door to her room to open it carefully, her heart somewhat beating in her throat, her hands moist with anticipation.

But when she opened the door, she found that Rufus was still very much asleep. He had rolled over, hair banging into his face which had relaxed from its habitual frown into calmness. His breath was coming evenly, playing lightly at the hair in his face which made her want to brush it from his eyes, carefully. Brush over that warm, pale skin. But then, surely, he would wake. And his eyes would flicker open, the first expression maybe bewilderment about where he was. And then, he would look at her. Maybe take her hand and caress it.

Or be terribly crossed to be woken.

She gave a sigh. Again, she reasoned that it was better to let him sleep until his body had recovered from both the materia and the spells it had performed – that had almost destroyed him.

Still, she stood a moment at the door, just looked at him, hoping for him to wake on his own. Love? She had been so anxious throughout the last months that she had almost forgotten how it felt. How wonderful a feeling it was.

Marlene had followed her from the kitchen, but Tifa had them return nearly immediately. And made Marlene promise that she would – under no circumstances – tell Reeve that Rufus was still alive. Marlene, to her surprise, was very understanding, but it took a while until it dawned to her that she thought it was because Reeve wasn't supposed to know because he would be very jealous indeed.

Hoping for Rufus throughout the breakfast, she turned to cleaning the house afterwards, buying some things nearby and hoping every minute that Rufus might wake at last. Once or twice she was sure to hear him move, but in the evening, he was still asleep which did worry her.

She didn't open the bar, was too tired for it, and after the riot, she doubted she would have many customers. To be sure, she didn't _want_ to have any as long as a White Geostigma patient was living under her roof. Sleeping under her roof, rather.

By dusk, after she had read Marlene to sleep, she was indeed worried about Rufus. She mistrusted White Geostigma very much and after all she had heard it wasn't impossible – had happened, too – that White Geostigma were struck people into a coma. She didn't know anything about coma and as she sat on the rim of her bed, deadly tired again, she couldn't but watch Rufus with worry. He looked perfectly normal to her, healthier even then yesterday evening, but still, that he hadn't woken the entire day long, worried her. Additionally, she was disappointed. She would have loved to talk to him, introduce him to the house, have him around her, see him smile, fell him close to her. And now, he would be gone tomorrow afternoon again, to Junon, and once again, she would have to wait for someone to return to her.

The blanket had almost slipped from the bed and she took it up, carefully covering him with it again so he wouldn't catch a cold from the icy air that was sipping in through the open window.

She clearly didn't want to journey after him – couldn't with the children, couldn't face Reeve yet with the statement that she was going to abandon Cloud. Like he had abandoned her and the children. That she didn't believe him to be alive anymore.

At last, she turned into bed, feeling somewhat empty again. But when she reached out to take Rufus' hand, she felt his fingers close around hers for a short moment as if to tell her that she wasn't alone anymore. It was in that moment that she realized that she was perhaps falling for Rufus because he could give her strength in return and she could stop, for only a few moments, to fight. Which would make her stronger to support him in return.

* * *

Again, Tifa woke late in the next morning, still with the feeling of Rufus' hand in hers, again to rays of sunlight. When she sat up, with a leap of relief, she noted that Rufus' bed was empty – made – and barefooted, in her pyjama, with butterflies in her stomach, she slipped out of bed and almost hurried to find out where Rufus had gone to.

Evidence came pretty fast when she was in the corridor:

"Is it clean now?" she heard Marlene ask curiously.

"It should be clean."

"But it looks all black."

"It's supposed to look black."

"So… where does this go?" Marlene sounded very curious.

"In here. Now, you just have to place that one there and this one here… right, exactly, that's it." There were a few metallic sounds and Tifa was dead curious by now as what was going on – and what Rufus could be showing Marlene that needed assembling.

"Give it back!" she heard him say, quite sharply, actually, when she entered. "You mustn't ever point it at yourself or at another person, didn't you listen?"

By now, Tifa had rounded the corner and was standing in the door, her heart nearly stopping with what she was seeing. Rufus was holding a pistol in his hand which he just seemed to have taken from Marlene, pointing it away from both of them and Marlene, shocked by the sudden harshness in his voice, seemed at the edge of being very upset.

"What the hell do you think you are doing?" Tifa snapped and crossed the room with quick steps, angry.

"Good morning, Tifa! I hope you…"

Tifa snatched the pistol from his hand. "Are you blood crazy?"

"Don't worry, it's not loaded, I just showed her how to reassemble it."

"Marlene is six!"

Rufus looked at her, completely blank and obviously a little bewildered about what she was aiming at. "Yes, I know. What's your point?"

"You. Taught. A six-year-old girl how to assemble a gun?"

"Now, I don't see where the difference lies between teaching a boy and a…"

"She. Is. Six! Rufus! Six! You can't teach a six-year-old how to assemble a weapon! She's a child!"

Rufus looked miffed. "That's why I told her that she mustn't point it at people."

"Oh, the pointing guns at people part comes later, then? When she's – what? _Seven_?"

"I clearly don't see your point! You've got weapons all over your house – ran around with them half of your life and you oppose to teach your children how to clean them and what _not_ to do with them?"

"Yes, maybe I used weapons half of my life, but _I_ needed to fight for my life and for the planet, _I_ needed to kill. That's not the world I want my children to live in!"

"So you just leave them clueless about how to defend themselves. I'm sure that makes things better."

"I protect them! And the world has _changed_!"

"Please, Tifa, don't argue!" Marlene pulled at her hand and looked very much as if she was about to cry. "I promise I won't ever point a pistol at people again…"

Rufus looked very much as if he was about to disagree with her statement but then gave an off-handed shrug. "Whatever."

Tifa nodded. "Okay. Just – please, don't show them how to use pistols, okay?"

"Whatever – yes. Alright." He took the pistol from her again, slipped the magazine into the shaft, secured it and put it into his jacket.

Tifa still felt angry that he could be reckless and thoughtless enough to tell Marlene about pistols. She didn't want her children around anything that could kill. And she felt almost equally disappointed. This was so different form everything she had imagined this morning to be. She had thought she would talk to him, prepare breakfast, that they would get on well and now, the first thing they had done was to argue. She gave a sigh. "What where you doing with it, anyway?"

Marlene looked at both of them, as if to figure out if everything was okay again.

"Cleaning," Rufus replied. He too sounded still miffed. "It fell into the mud, there was blood on it, it lay in water. Pistols need to be taken care of, otherwise they won't work properly. Besides, this one is one of Tseng's. I'd hate to see it ruined. – I'm sorry I told Marlene about it. I am not accustomed to your ethics."

"Don't worry about it," Tifa replied although Rufus' last sentence made her heartily sick again. She asked herself how she could possible have fallen for a man like him to whom guns where something children should know about. She asked herself if Reeve hadn't been right after all. "It's good to see you awake again." She smiled.

Marlene had seated herself on her chair in the meantime, still watched them warily but had turned to a drawing book she must have brought with her and got out her crayons. Why couldn't she have surprised Rufus discussing the pictures in the book with her instead of pistols? – Because, she thought, she couldn't even imagine him discussing such a thing. Or reading a book to them or being good with children in general.

He answered her smile. "Thank you. But I'll have to call my Turks after breakfast. I do have to assure Tseng arrived safely yesterday evening! – I hope they didn't have to operate him!"

Tifa blinked, turning to the cupboards. "Yesterday? Yesterday was Monday. You slept an entire day long, Rufus."

For a moment, he looked surprised. Then, he shrugged. "Now, that explains why I woke so early. I have to admit, I _was_ surprised that you let Marlene live here on her own. Have you heard from Tseng, then?"

"Marlene, can you put your book away and help me set the table, please?" Marlene was starting to spread over the entire table and pulled a face now but got up obediently. "Yes, I heard about him. Rude came here yesterday…"

"He drove me here, too!" Marlene piped, happily.

"He told me that Tseng's going fine. And that they are going to pick you up to get you to Junon, I suppose, this noon."

"Hn." Rufus looked at her, studied her. "You're no good at lying."

Tifa narrowed her eyes but didn't want to tell him her mind about what she thought about entire lying-business just now. "Things have gone badly downtown. Reeve told me they burned your building. It's certainly better if you're not in town."

"Hn." Rufus fell silent for a moment, his face dark. "So Reeve didn't send people to disperse the riot."

"I don't know. But he is worried about you. He said it would be good if you turned up again."

Rufus gave a dry and sarcastic laugh. "Of course. He'd have to team up with Ennio Scipione, otherwise."

"With whom?"

"The guy who's responsible for the riot. One of the old nobility. He's also the one who's responsible for the New Geostigma Deaths. But hard times make strange bedfellows." He shrugged but seemed quite worried and wrenched underneath.

"Don't worry. I do think things will turn out alright. And – didn't you say that there was always a solution?" Tifa smiled at him, remembering how much his words had picked her up.

Rufus frowned and then answered her smiled a little. "Well, if I said so, it has to be true, of course."

Tifa smiled back at him and felt her heart rising, although Rufus still looked slightly worried and pretty tired. But she liked that smile on his lips as she placed a plate in front of him.

Rufus got up in the same moment: "I'm sorry. I'm forgetting my manners – how can I help?"

This made Tifa smile again. She had wanted to ask him now whether indeed he had killed Isolde and Fontainebleau and why he had, but she just couldn't bring herself to pose that question; he had to be miserable enough at the moment, having lost his company once again, however optimistic he acted. Telling him that Reeve wanted to put him to trial wasn't just the right thing, it seemed. "It's alright. Just – sit down. Enjoy the view." She pointed at the window through which one couldn't make out more than the front of the next house.

Rufus sneered but sat back down. Indeed, he looked rather tired, still. Tifa only hoped that it wasn't the same tiredness that had possessed Denzel ever since his last Geostigma-attack. Still, she feared it was. And Denzel hadn't improved much, even after more than two weeks; it was almost impossible for him to walk.

Marlene came round with a jar of marmalade put it on the table and took Rufus' hand. "Don't be unhappy, Mr Rufus," she said. "Bad things don't last, Tifa says and the sun will shine again tomorrow!"

For a moment, Rufus just looked stunned, then, as he took his hand back, a wry smirk crept over his face. "My, what a pleasant daughter you have!"

Marlene grinned happily and returned to her seat and Tifa was happy the girl was yet too young to understand the cynic undertone.

Breakfast continued in a somewhat cheerier atmosphere and Rufus seemed to recover to his former good mood quickly enough although Tifa wasn't sure how much of it was just façade. He still looked very tired and exhausted and she felt very, very sorry for him. If Reeve had done something the day before yesterday, maybe his company or at least some important papers could have been saved.

She asked herself why Reeve hadn't acted, but couldn't come to an answer. Maybe, she supposed, his people had just been too late?

Also, although she had tried to wash it yesterday, Rufus' suit was looking far from its usual perfect form which made him look a lot sorrier indeed. It made her think of how they had kissed, out there in front of the burning mansion. She couldn't believe he had just killed Isolde and her father for the fun of it, whatever Reeve said.

They talked for quite a while over the breakfast table, Marlene disappeared after half of the time to the other end of the room, drawing in her book, and it was half past eleven when they had finished cleaning the dishes which almost coincided with the knocking against the front door.

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed. The next chapter will be from Rufus' perspective again and we'll find out what happen to Isolde and her father… and poor Cloud._

_It'll also be the last chapter._

_Please review._


	30. And Into The Black

_So, this is the last chapter. __Thank you for bearing with me this far! I do hope you will enjoy this chapter, too._

_Thank you for all your wonderful reviews so far, many thanks especially to licoriceallsorts for the very constructive and motivating reviews!_

_I hope you'll enjoy the chapter!_

* * *

Chapter 30: Rufus: And into the Black

When the door bell rang around noon, Tifa told him to stay behind and wait, but Rufus decided to follow her and Marlene, anyway. He didn't want to leave Tifa's house. He would have liked to stay here forever, stowed away from the rest of the world – stowed away from that disaster downtown.

He felt exhausted from the inside, the fire was crawling along his backbone, eating away his strength. He could feel it on each breath. The last spell had taken its toll.

But that was the price he was paying for toying with his Turks' and his own lives once again.

Sun was flooding the place, the floor creaked under his feet. He could smell the dust, saw it dancing in the light. The sun was warm on his skin.

He remembered how the horizon had been red with the burning silhouette of Shin-Ra tower, from time to time hidden by gushes of rain. How everything he had been working for in the last few months had just gone up in flames. He had done his best this time not to draw only profit from the people but once again, his name had been ruined and WRO would once again step into the gap Shin-Ra would leave behind. The work of months – years – for nothing, thrown back in a mere night! He was glad that, at least, he had been smart enough to stow all the contracts in Junon. But, still, even if he retained his bought companies here, even if he retained some of his influence – there was no way he could return to Edge as long as the New Geostigma victims were regarded to be the root of all evil. No way he could appear in public anywhere anymore; he was certain that rumour was already around that he was infected, too. They would lynch him.

He would be locked up in Junon once again, everything else in ruins.

Again, all his plans, all his hopes, had been reduced to shreds. And even revenge had to wait. But he didn't even feel revengeful. Just incredibly empty.

At the moment, there wasn't more he owned than the clothes he had on his body. All his possessions, everything but the money, had once again been claimed by destruction. The katana Tseng had given to him. The beautiful sign the Turk had written – yŏu, the tasteless jade-Buddha Reno and Rude had bought for him in Wutai, even the 'get-well'-cards Elena had written (because she had the finest handwriting) and all of the other Turks had signed. The last photo of his mother from his fourth birthday which he had saved from the ruins of the other Shin-Ra tower. Everything gone.

Would Tseng forgive him? In his foolishness, he hadn't only lost his company, he had nearly killed Tseng. Just because he had thought he knew better, once again. Just because he had been stupid enough to walk into Isolde's trap. Although Tseng had told him not to act like an idiot once again. But he had, just because until now, nothing had happened, either. Tseng had been forced to save his life once again and it had nearly killed him. And all he had been able to do to pay him back was to nearly burn him to death. Tseng would forgive him, he was sure, but the thought carried no reassurance. For being forgiven was by no means the same then forgiving oneself.

As the sun felt so incredibly warm on his hair, caressing his skin, he thought of Tifa. Her kiss. How kind she had been. He felt the exhaustion burning, as if the fire inside him hadn't only burned down an entire place but also raged and burned his inwards. The white spots were hurting, he felt sick at times, too tired to move. Now, the fire was groping through every inch of his body.

Without Tifa, without her cheerful smile, the way she seemed to feel for him, surely, the results of last – no, yesterday's – night would have been unbearable.

He heard her laughing and asking Rude in, heard Marlene's high voice and descended the staircase. Tifa smiled and he felt his heart warming.

"Rude, good to see you. I trust everything is well?"

"Just so, Shachou. We prepared everything in Junon for your arrival."

He nodded. "Good." He looked at Tifa, saw her smiling and felt his heart aching. Who knew how long until he would see her again? He didn't want to leave her behind. He wanted to wake up there in that bed again and look at her for hours without end. He wanted to take her hand, look into her eyes and forget everything that had happened. But there was too much to do to stay. Or was there? Why did he have to get up again? Why would he care to try and rebuild his company from the mess once again? He had enough money already. He could just stay here now, stay together with his Turks, never endanger their lives anymore. Stay here with Tifa and help her raise those mindless brats of hers. He didn't really feel obliged to the planet. Given, he was Shin-Ra's heir and Shin-Ra had nearly ruined the planet, but he hadn't had much part in it. It was all his father's doing, not his. Everyone seemed to think him responsible, but he really wasn't. Was he? Why would he care to make up if they spurned what he had tried to do for them as much as what his father had done before? He wanted to stay with Tifa and close his eyes for once. Stop to struggle. But if he decided to just turn away now, it was just like running away. It was like admitting that he had been defeated. That he wasn't up to leading Shin Ra. That he was that loser for whom his father had installed that escape-button up in the president's office of the old Shin-Ra tower. And what would Tseng say? He had nearly killed him for his stupid schemes. What would the other Turks say? What would he tell them? _Sorry, guys, but Shin-Ra's history now, let's go to Costa del Sol and lie on the beach for the rest of our lives_? Right. What kind of life was that, anyway? If he did that he wasn't any better than the old nobility. And, what was worse, if he did that, he would go crazy within a year. He couldn't just do without that feeling of commanding. Just besides the infernal problem that his brain just didn't like to be unoccupied. Stopping to work, stopping to scheme would be like stopping to breathe.

Being smart, surely, that was the greatest curse of all.

"Prepare the car, if you please," he turned to Rude. Who was he to have a right to quit fighting? There was enough time to rest once he was dead. Shin-Ra needed rebuilding and he would rebuild it. Shin-Ra _could_ be rebuilt. And it wouldn't be nearly as hard as after Meteor.

Rude nodded and turned. They were out under the bright sky already. It was warm in the street, the sun reflected on the panels of the windows.

"So, this is it, then?" Tifa asked.

Rufus looked at her. She looked sad but tried to smile. The sun was reflecting in her beautiful brown eyes and she was dressed as badly as ever.

"Why don't you come to Junon with me?" He wasn't even aware he had said it.

Tifa shook her head. "What about my bar, Rufus? What about the children?"

"Tifa, please," he hesitated a moment but then took her hand. It felt strangely warm, so full of life. It was so irrational what he was doing here and yet, his heart hammered and he had never felt happier than those few moments he had talked to her at the breakfast table. "I won't be coming back, not for years, maybe. You could open a bar in Junon."

"Oh, come on, Rufus, you can come back every hour you wish! Why would you hide from Reeve?"

"People will see me at WRO, Tifa. And now, they know I'm infected. You know what prejudices there are still against Shin-Ra. It would be impossible to rebuild the company if they knew that it is led by someone who is infected. At least as long as prejudices prevail."

"Why then must you rebuild your company?"

For a moment, he hesitated to tell her that it was because he was addicted to scheming and power, but that would never do. Not directly to her face, anyway, even if she suspected it. "I owe it to the planet. I have to make up for what my father's company did. For it, I need my company."

Tifa fell silent for a moment, then took her hand from his. "Rufus, I would like to come – just, I can't. I cannot leave the children with Reeve, what would I tell him?"

"Take them with you. Tell Reeve you follow Tseng's invitation – Rude told you. It's better for Denzel, anyway. How long till someone finds out he's infected? What if there's another riot? Even if he's safe at WRO, he won't be able to go to school like a normal child. Not to mention play with other children. In Junon, he at least won't face murder. And what happens if someone bothers to find you because you've been with me at that party? At least come until things have settled down here and the murderers have been caught."

Tifa wavered, looked at the bar, looked at him, looked at Marlene who seemed to be talking to Rude. Rude was listening to them. Then, she nodded, slowly, reluctantly, as it seemed, but Rufus felt his heart rise. "Okay. You are right. It might be better if we stayed out of town for a few days until things settle down. To be honest, it doesn't really matter anymore if I don't open the bar for a few more weeks and I could use some time off. I think the children could use some time off, too. I'll worry about the bar later."

"Thank you. – Will you come directly? I'm sure we can spare a few more moments."

Tifa shook her head. "No, I'll have to take care of a few things first. But Reeve told me Tseng's going to be released tomorrow. I could come with him."

Rufus nodded, triumph and happiness battling inside him. What did he care his company was in ruins if Tifa was around? For her, he could have it safe the planet. "I'll arrange that. I'm looking very much forward to welcome you in Junon, then."

She smiled at him and he felt very tempted to lean over and kiss her. Her hair was brown in the bright sunlight. She was wearing her silly clothes again and, again, he was telling lies. He asked himself if she knew. Surely, she suspected. It was strange how much she despised lies but how much she wanted to be lied to. Her eyes had steadied on his as he leaned forward and brushed her hair aside. He felt her coming closer, felt her breath on his lips, but in the same moment, Marlene came running squeakingly across the street and bumped into Tifa, flinging her arms around her, nearly running her over.

"You're the best, Tifa! Junon will be wonderful!" She turned around to Rufus who felt completely disappointed. "Thank you for inviting us, Mr Rufus!" She curtsied and took hold of Tifa's hand. "Come, Tifa! We must pack!"

Tifa made an apologetic gesture and tried to stop Marlene from pulling her inside the building. "Stop it, Marlene! – I'm sorry, Rufus! I'll be seeing you then tomorrow, okay?"

"Yes, tomorrow. Have a pleasant journey."

"You, too…"

"See you tomorrow, then." He turned, disappointed but very much looking to the next day. What did he fuss about one missed kiss if Tifa was to come to Junon?

"Rufus?"

"Yes?" He turned back, half way across the street, his heart thumbing strangely as he saw her standing there with Marlene at her hand.

"I l… no, forget it, I'll tell you tomorrow!" She grinned. She seemed happy.

He smiled back and turned to the car where Rude was waiting whose expression didn't betray anything.

Rufus slipped onto the co-driver's seat and fastened the seatbelt. Looking into the side-mirror as they drove off, he saw Tifa and Marlene standing there until Rude drove the car around the next bend. His heart was exulting. Was that, perhaps, happiness? To have a company in ruins and be in love with a former enemy who seemed quite willing to reply that love, just after he had nearly killed his best friend? Surely, the world was _very_ twisted. The last thing he saw of them was Marlene's waving hand (the rest of her disappeared behind an astonishingly big and battered motorbike someone had parked in the street) and Tifa's smile.

"Are we going to drive all the way?" He turned back to Rude.

The man shook his head. "Reno landed the helicopter three blocks away. Tseng didn't like the idea to have you go all the way to Junon by car."

Rufus nodded and in the same moment felt a pang of guilt. "How is he?"

"Good. Elena takes good care of him."

"Very good." Rufus nodded.

"You saved his life," Rude continued.

Rufus turned his head to him. He hadn't been aware that his voice had betrayed uneasiness and was vexed that he had let it show. On the other hand, he and the Turks had known each other for years now and Rude had always been a deep file.

"That's a relief," He replied with a small smirk at his Turk. Tseng was okay and Tifa would come to Junon. He couldn't have felt much happier.

* * *

"Shall I clean the dishes?" Marlene asked and looked up at Tifa as soon as the car had disappeared around the corner. She had the strong feeling she had done something wrong, but wasn't sure what it had been. Maybe Rufus and Tifa had wanted to talk about something important? They had been standing quite close after all… Adults sometimes talked about important things and they didn't like children bumping in.

Rufus had looked sour, she thought. That wasn't good. If Rufus was sour, Tifa could be unhappy – at least, she sensed that – and if Rufus was sour, which was far more important, he perhaps wouldn't let them come to Junon after all and that meant she wouldn't see Rude.

Maybe, she thought, and the thought heated her face, maybe, Rufus had even wanted to _kiss_ Tifa. Surely, then, it hadn't been a good idea to have run towards Tifa. She didn't quite understand the kissing-business or why someone would want to do that – _she_ would never kiss anyone! – but to adults, it seemed to be important.

But if Rufus had wanted to kiss Tifa, that was a good sign, was it not? That meant that he really liked Tifa and Tifa liked him and that she and Denzel could play all the time they wanted with the Turks. That meant that Tifa would run the bar again and they would have breakfast together and Rufus would read them bed-time-stories just like Cloud had. And Tifa would be happy again.

She realized she hadn't gotten an answer from Tifa, yet. "Tifa-a?" She asked and pulled at her foster-mother's hand.

But Tifa didn't follow. When Marlene looked up, she saw that Tifa stood there as if struck by a lightning. Or turned into stone.

She was staring straight ahead and as Marlene followed her gaze, she saw two forms coming towards them. The first was Denzel, staggering somewhat but clearly better and walking. Marlene was a bit surprised. He had been very ill still yesterday. But now, he seemed absolutely well again. It made Marlene a little uneasy. Tifa and the doctors had said he mustn't strain himself. The second one was holding onto Denzel's hand, supporting the boy, his blond hair spiky and the face Marlene only knew to be tender and worried drawn into an angry expression.

"Cloud…!" She turned when she heard Tifa's strangled stammer. It was a voice she didn't know of Tifa and it frightened her.

"You are alive, Cloud…"

"Yes," the ex-not-SOLDIER answered and let Denzel step in front of Marlene and Tifa.

Denzel grinned over his entire face. "It's gone! The monster inside me is gone! And I'm better! Look! I can walk again!"

"Here," Cloud held a small phial with a white liquid in it in his hand. Somehow, Marlene had the feeling he wasn't as happy as he should be. He looked a lot more miserable than she remembered him to have looked. He seemed a little angry and very sad and Marlene was puzzled why he would be, upon seeing Tifa. "As I promised: I found a way to heal Denzel… it should have been a surprise, Tifa. But as it seems, you were planning on a surprise, too…"

* * *

Rufus was sitting in his new and old office in Junon, staring at the clock on his table. Rude had popped his head in only twenty minutes ago to tell him that Ennio Scipione had been arrested here in Junon when he had tried to escape together with Manuel Fontainebleau and Isolde to Wutai. Usually, Rufus would have contemplated about visiting them. Now, he felt so sick with the entire situation that the thought wasn't in the most remote way tempting. And then, Rude had also handed in a few letters Reeve had faxed, already addressed to Tseng.

The first letter informed him that, in the far north, an old woman had invented a potion that could thus cure New Geostigma. Only, she had been very old and she had died without telling someone the secret to her potion, and the young man who had recently been seen around her place had vanished.

It was past one o'clock in the afternoon already. Tseng should be here any moment now and with him Tifa and the children. His heart was hammering in anticipation of Tifa, but he was almost afraid to meet Tseng. In the helicopter, yesterday, Rude had informed him that Tseng had lost his arm. Because New Geostigma just couldn't be controlled and he had almost burned his friend to death. Because he had been too arrogant, too impetuous, too uncaring once again. Yes. He had saved Tseng's life, but only after he had endangered it. And he had taken his arm for it.

He had no clue how Tseng would react. Even the fact that Tifa was going to here in a few minutes – that they would have lunch together and that he could show her their headquarter – barely lift his anxiousness.

Reno had told him, as if it were a good joke, that he had made Elena ask Tseng out. According to Reno's description, Elena must have positively died from embarrassment. But Tseng had agreed. And Rufus knew well enough why. For now that Tseng only had one arm, he couldn't possibly object anymore; he wouldn't be her superior officer any longer. No active Turk-duty anymore when you were short of one arm.

There was a knock on the door. Tseng. No doubt about the knock.

"Come in, Tseng," he answered. The sun that was bathing him, nicely warm before, was making him sweat.

The door was opened and Tseng entered. He was wearing his smooth Turk-suit again, was paler than usual. The black hair was up in a ponytail, the same length he had worn it when they had met for the first time. It must have burned, too.

The left sleeve was empty.

"Good morning, Rufus." Tseng crossed the room.

Rufus got up, felt the exhaustion burning inside him. Even a twelve-hour's sleep hadn't made it any better. He couldn't read anything in Tseng's face and felt his tongue dry against his palate.

"Tseng. How are you? Are you better?"

The Turk gave one of his short nods, his face completely unmoved. "Good. Thank you."

Rufus surrounded his desk. He didn't know what he was supposed to say. He didn't know what to do. "I'm sorry about your arm, Tseng. I didn't mean to… I just thought it was a good idea to close the wound but…" He scoffed and shook his head. "Whatever. All I have to say now clearly won't undo anything."

Tseng studied him for a moment. He was holding a wooden box in his hand. "You suck at apologising," he remarked and put the box onto the desk.

Rufus tried to catch his eyes. "Are you not angry?"

"Rufus, of course I'm angry. You've – once again – ignored everything I told you and on top of it saved my life. That makes me fear for my job. And what were you thinking, to use that fire to safe me? You could have easily died."

He studied Tseng, feeling nothing but anxious. "I thought I'd loose you, Tseng. I'm sorry. I'm sorry for everything I've done and I'm sorry I pulled you into it and I'm sorry I burned your arm. But it seemed like a good idea at that point."

For a moment, Tseng only looked at him. Then, one of his rare smiles stole itself around the edges of his mouth and he shook his head. "You are a horrible charge, Rufus. Thank you. Thank you for saving my life."

Rufus smiled back and nodded at his empty sleeve. "I'll get it back. I promise I'll give you a new arm."

There were some possibilities for that; Tseng's blood type wasn't that rare, it would be possible to find a donator and hire the best surgeons on all Gaia. And if Tseng refused that, he would find him the best engineer for artificial limbs and prostheses. He would make up for this.

Tseng nodded. "I am going to have to resign from active Turk duty, though."

Rufus replied the nod, more confident now. "That comes in handy."

Tseng looked at him, there was that strange smile again around the edges of his mouth. "Does it?"

"Haven't you read my will? You are the heir of Shin-Ra, Inc.. You'll be the one walking around with bodyguards for the next few months, years… by the by, have Tifa and the children arrived soundly?" He couldn't have been much more relieved by Tseng's reaction and now, his heart was beating quickly in expectance of Tifa.

Tseng shook his head. "Tifa begs to be excused; there were still a few things that needed organising, she said. But here is her letter." He felt into his jacket although it looked as if the movement was paining him and produced an envelopment.

Rufus took it from him, thoughtfully. Disappointed. Tifa had promised to come today. He hoped that whatever needed organising wouldn't take too long.

"Give me your hand, please."

"Why?" Rufus was just opening the envelopment out of the edge of his eye, he watched how Tseng opened the small, wooden box. He had been curious what it contained and why Tseng had brought it. Now, his Turk took out a small phial with a white liquid in it. It was as good as empty.

"Tifa gave this potion to me. She said they found a treatment for New Geostigma and it worked well with Denzel."

"Nonsense. There is no treatment for New Geostigma. Not anymore, that is. I – you, Shin-Ra, whoever – received a memo from Reeve this morning. Seems there was a woman in the north who had found a treatment. Sadly, she was old and died without leaving an heir. It's careless not to prepare for such eventualities in good time." Still, Rufus extended his hand and smirked. "Or, maybe, her heir made himself unpopular by trying to kill her?" How could Tifa possibly have laid hands on such a potion? Maybe, Reeve was trying to lie now that he thought that he, Rufus, wasn't around anymore. But Reeve liked Tseng and there was no reason for Reeve to be jealous now that he, Rufus, wasn't around anymore. Maybe, this potion was a fake. But even if, it was certainly worth a try. He felt the fire nagging at his innards, feasting on his strength, remembered the fright, the panic of the attacks. The desolation after he had realized what he had done.

He only wished Tifa had brought the phial herself. But he could well wait another day.

Tseng shrugged. "If I learned one thing from your father it is that whatever a child does, its parents never cease to love it."

Rufus frowned. He didn't like to be reminded of the notion that his father had loved him despite everything. "Do start you magic, will you, Tseng?"

Tseng gave a sigh and opened the phial while Rufus himself turned to the envelopment. He hesitated to open it. Why wasn't Tifa bringing the phial herself? Out of the edge of his eye, Rufus saw the drop that was falling from the mouth of the phial onto the white spot on the back of his hand. It hit the skin and disappeared. For a moment, he felt nothing. Then, a slow and painful crawling started below his skin. Black vapour seemed to rise from the back of his hand, dancing in the brilliant sunlight and it felt as if someone pulled a rope through his entire body, through all its veins, a rope that ended in the white spot. The rope dragged the fire behind it which was burning the veins and, as Tseng dripped more of the liquid onto the spot, left emptiness behind. The pain was enough to flinch, and he clenched his hand into a fist. But at the same time, his thoughts were on the letter in his other hand. There had been a young man with the old woman and he was missing and such a phial had turned up in _Tifa_'s hands of all. Rufus felt himself growing cold with the pain, forced himself to hold the hand still as the black vapour was dispersed by the sunlight. The sharp smell of a dying fire was filling the room. What would he do?

What was there to be done?

Another drop hit the back of his hand and then, the end of the rope reached the spot. There wasn't even a sizzle, nothing spectacular, as the fire died away inside him. It just left exhaustion and emptiness and the black vapour that was quickly dissolving in the sunlight.

There wasn't ever another choice but to pick oneself up again. No matter what. He owed that to his Turks. And to Shin-Ra.

"I think that's it," Tseng said and looked at the phial. There was one drop left. "It seems to have worked."

"Yes." Rufus forced his hand to stop shaking and stared at the folded paper between his fingers.

Tseng studied him, noticed and put the phial back into its wooden box. "I'll bring the phial into the lab. Perhaps the last drop is still of some use for them."

"No, don't. Please stay." Rufus closed his eyes and slowly drew in a deep breath.

He didn't even need to open the letter to know that Cloud was back, that he had given Tifa the phial and that Tifa wasn't going to come.

Ever.

* * *

_Thank you very much for reading my story._

_I would really appreciate comments. I'm aware that the ending isn't altogether happy, but I'd really like to know what you think about it, even if you hate it._


	31. Nevermind

_Um, yes... as you can see, I wrote a new chapter. Said I wouldn't, but it seems that while I can't write on with stories I said I would I'll continued with those I said I wouldn't... mad world... mad me...  
_

_I do hope you'll enjoy. I know I've proclaimed the story finished and that writing on on a story that's been declared finished before usually is followed by a calamity, but I've got quite a few ideas for what's going to happen next._

_If you have any ideas, wishes or thoughts concerning this story, I'd be glad if you told me. I've only outlined the general storyline, so there's still room for other ideas._

_PS: Please also tell me about mistakes I make in grammar or spelling. I know I sometimes mix words up, but – if I'm not told, how will I ever learn?_

* * *

Chapter 31: Nevermind

"_As a symbol of sin, hurled from another world, it towers over the eerie rubble of the Fallen City, itself the ruin of Shin-Ra's glory. Behold, everyone, this graveyard of guilt, the feast that quietness and darkness hold over Midgar today. Once called 'Mako City', Shin-Ra's symbol of might and prosperity is nothing _more_ today than a symbol for a man's sins and his punishment. Hybris and Nemesis of not even a dynasty..."_

"Hubris and Nemesis, hn?" Rufus looked over his shoulder at the TV-screen. "How pathetic, to fit life in such simple terms."

Tseng switched off the TV, the woman's voice died away last, babbling on. "I remember distinctly that you once said yourself that one had to explain the world to the people in simple terms. Give them great names to worship."

Rufus smirked. "That's true for propaganda, but that," he nodded at the TV, "is supposed to be the result of freedom of press… my, I don't know why I even bothered with propaganda… they are doing a splendid job all by themselves."

"They aren't worshipping you, haven't you noticed?"

"Details, details."

"I can't find it's so much about details."

Rufus poured them both a mug of tea before he set the teapot down on the table, and smirked again, but just a little bit. There was no mirth in the smirk. "No, you are right. Burning down our Headquarters is certainly not a matter of detail." He picked up the lighter that was lying next to the tea-pot warmer. "I still can't comprehend what my father was thinking, naming Midgar after Midgard. He wanted it to last forever, didn't he?" He flicked the lighter towards the candle.

"Enlighten me." Typical Rufus to talk cryptic again. It was one and a half weeks since Tseng had arrived back from Edge and he had not seen much of Rufus with the operation he was preparing for and Rufus working furiously to pick up what was left of Shin-Ra yet again.

"Well, Midgard is the world of men in Nordic mythology. Its border is the Midgard Serpant which winds around it and bites its own tail were it meets the head - just like Midgar was bordered by that ring of Mako-reactors, if one wants to compare. Yet the Nordic world does not last for ever; it'll cease to exist on Ragnarök... My, I wonder if my father abandoned the 'd' of Midgard to fend of Ragnarök." He smirked. Again, without mirth. "Itmakes one think, though, that the first event that marked the end of our world was the explosion of reactor 7. On Ragnarök, the Midgard Serpent releases its own tail. Ill fated name! – Gaia! What is wrong with this lighter?" Rufus glowered at the lighter in his hand which, even after the sixth attempt, declined to offer fire. "Do you carry another one?"

Tseng pointed his hand at him. "Let me try it. You're too hasty."

Rufus glared at him, but only for the doubt of a second before the expression was covered by a quickly hidden shadow, which in turn, made Tseng feel slightly uncomfortable. He had not want to hint anything and it was a sign of just how guilty Rufus had to feel that he still took it that way.

"So, what happens to the snake after she releases her tail? Does she swallow the world?" He took the lighter from Rufus, bent forward and lit the candle. Too hasty, indeed.

Rufus shook his head. He had leaned back in his chair, mug in hand. "She is killed by Thor, but Thor is poisoned by her, well, poison and dies after nine steps. I wonder what kind of poison kills a god? They say that serpent's poison mostly leads to cardiac arrest. Romantic death, isn't it? To die, saving the world. – To die in vain, rather."

Tseng took up his own mug, kept his voice level when he asked: "So, who's Thor in your little fiction. You?"

"Oh, whom did I kill? The mako? And when did I die? No, Tseng, I know what you are hinting at, but neither am I suicidal nor am I that vain. Or overly dramatic as a matter of facts."

Tseng blew the vapour from his tea, this time the one to feel caught. Rufus had not said a word about Tifa ever since he had read her letter. Tseng did not like to remember that grey and frozen expression on Rufus' face or how small his voice had been. How helpless he himself had felt, lost with coming to terms that he was one arm short, that he had failed to protect Shin-Ra's headquarter in Edge and, most of all, lost with how to help Rufus. A hand on a shoulder, gestures of comfort, certainly were not a way to deal with the problem. He being who he was had not known which words to say and how to offer comfort, and ever since he had left that room, Rufus had not said a word about it anymore, and Tseng was not the kind of man who knew what questions to ask. Apart from that, Rufus was avoiding all approaches and Tseng knew him well enough to be aware that another direct approach would lead to a fierce rebuff. After having looked at him for another moment, trying to find words to stay, Tseng decided it was rather helpless and decided to change the topic: "Are you planning to go to the rendition of judgement?" They had barely met over the last few days, mostly, Tseng had read drafts during those endless hours in hospital.

"Hardly."

"Not?"

The edge of Rufus' mouth darted slightly upwards. "If that fool Cloud hasn't bawled my survival to Reeve, I'm still dead. I certainly do not feel vindictive enough to blow that cover. Besides, I do think there is something of more importance to attend to tomorrow than _that_. My, Reeve even got them prime lawyers. And everything to have them found guilty and executed. Does he not know that one must not waste resources?"

Tseng almost smiled at how incidentally Rufus dropped the remark that he would be present tomorrow for the operation, and if nothing else, it made him feel rather relieved. The idea of holding the loss of his arm against Rufus had never once occurred to him, whatever Rufus might be thinking. Certainly, it would not ever come back, but modern technology offered good replacements and – Rufus had endangered his own life to save his. That was not a small feat. Not at all. Rufus did not endanger his life to save other people, had never and was not very likely to do so in future. He was too selfish and as such, his own life was far too dear to him to even think of such things, as much as that contradicted with his sometimes rather rash actions. It was the greatest compliment Rufus could have paid him and yet, Rufus still seemed to feel guilty. It was strange in a way. Did he not realize that loosing his arm was just part of his Turk-duty? That he would have given much more and even that without reproach to save Rufus' life?

"I would be honoured if you were there tomorrow."

"Would you?" Rufus' head snapped up. There was a certain surprise in his voice.

"Very much. Don't think I've missed how much effort you spent on finding the surgeon."

Rufus did not reply other than drinking a little tea. "What kind of … _automail_ have you decided on?"

"Automail?" Tseng repeated, being well aware of the pleased smile Rufus hid behind his mug.

"That's how Reno and Rude termed it. Well, Reno, I suppose."

"Just a normal one. Nothing special." He knew well enough that Rufus knew about all the details, but Rufus seemed to be making an effort to talk about the topic. Perhaps – no, certainly – that was why he had made the tea and joined him here at the table.

"No incorporated gun? Not knife? Not… saw, whatever?" Was there a sly grin of Rufus' face?

"Do you really think I would need such a thing, Shachou?"

Rufus studied him, one brow raised, smirked. "Hardly. You don't need gadgets to kill." He put the mug on the table and poured himself a little more tea. "Tea?"

Tseng shook his head. "Thank you. I still have some left. – But what does 'automail' mean?" He was not quite sure how to interpret the term. It certainly had nothing to do with an improved post service. Perhaps with chain-mail? His prosthesis was going to be made from metal, after all.

Rufus shrugged, leaned back again. "I have no clue. I just heard Reno mentioning it this morning. I thought you might know."

Tseng indicated another 'no'. "I haven't heard the term, yet." He would have had if it was an official synonym for prosthesis and so would Rufus.

"I'll look it up." Rufus' answer to almost every question that could not be solved by mere thinking.

"Maybe it's just one of Reno's jokes again," Tseng offered.

"Maybe," Rufus agreed and sipped at his tea. "Are you... I mean, does it worry you, tomorrow?"

Tseng shook his head. "We have materia and I'm sure you've contracted to best surgeons."

"Hm," Rufus made. "Reeve said he wanted to drop by in the next few days."

"Yes, I got the memo."

"Whom will you choose to attend?"

"I'll go myself."

"Shouldn't you rest a little? You could spent a little time at Costa del Sol, recovering."

Tseng almost laughed. "And get sand into my new limb? No, thank you, Rufus. Besides, I remember distinctly how you declined to go on vacation yourself one and a half week ago." Even now Rufus seemed to be rather exhausted. He did not look as if he got much sleep and although Tseng had not witnessed it directly, he was quite certain that Rufus did not eat well. It worried him.

Rufus glared at him.

"What I am saying is: If you go on vacation, I will go, too."

"I cannot go on vacation. As soon as I leave this building, people will see me and people will know that I'm still alive. And the ruckus about New Geostigma hasn't died down, yet. Most of all, Shin-Ra needs me. If I go on _vacation_ now, I won't have a company left to come back to."

"And how should I explain all the work that gets done while I am on vacation if you're dead to the world?"

Rufus huffed, suddenly looking awfully tired. "Whatever."

Tseng leaned forward to refill his mug and noticed that the tea was rather cold. At least, it was not steaming anymore when he poured it into his mug. Taking a closer look, he noticed that the candle had extinguished. He gave a sigh and relit it. That was exactly why he had been so relieved to return to Midgar; the draught in Junon's headquarters had always been bad but it had obviously gone form bad to worse.

"Are you planning to rebuild our Edge Headquarters?"

"I had one of our fake-companies buy the spot. At the moment, I not planning to have anything else but an office there." Rufus smirked. "WRO finances the cleaning. I think Reeve was afraid that no one would want to buy a spot which has been previously owned by Shin-Ra." He sounded rather cynic.

Tseng nodded. With the preparation for the surgery, he had not had much time for business in the last few days. He emptied his tea and got up. "I have to go."

Rufus did not reply but studied him questioningly.

"I promised Elena to join her for supper." Even as he answered, Tseng felt a little guilty. Telling Rufus that he was off for a date surely was not very considerate. Well, as much as a date supper with Elena was, anyway. Their first try had been an abysmal disaster. Elena had talked on and on about motion pictures she was not really interested in as it seemed and he had not been able to say a word until they had started talking about The Moon which had killed off any romantic atmosphere as well as mood and appetite.

Rufus gave a nod but no expression. "See you tomorrow."

"Thank you for tea and don't work too long."

Rufus sneered into his mug and Tseng felt distinctively guilty when he turned from the room and left Rufus sitting there on his own. He looked lonely and tired, overworked, exhausted and unhappy. He should not have mentioned Elena, Tseng thought, walking down the cold corridor, deep in thoughts.

* * *

_Yes, well. This was the first part of the second part of our little journey. So, as mentioned before: I've only got a few things outlined, so there's still room for your ideas._

_Next Chapter: Wherein Elena feels compelled to be disrespectful  
_

_And I'd be glad about your advises: Should I continue or should I just delete this chapter again and let what I said would be the end indeed be the end? So, please: review.  
_


	32. Wherein Elena is disrespectful

_I hope you'll enjoy the new chapter._

_I'm sorry it took a while but I'm just starting my master's thesis and it's quite a bit of work I have to cover, so I don't really have time to write.  
_

_Please tell me if you find any mistakes._

* * *

Chapter 32: Elena: Wherein Elena fells compelled to be disrespectful

Elena stood in front of the dining area and waited. She was nervous. Their first, well – date – had been a miserable failure, and she had been almost sure that Tseng would not want to see her again after all the nonsense she had emitted. Today, she was prepared to hush up if not asked, and she had actually thought about what kind of questions she could maybe ask Tseng so he would say more than just three words.

She was even more anxious because tomorrow, Tseng would be operated on. Attached to that – prosthesis. She was still unable to look at the empty sleeve, still felt her inside tightening up when she saw it. She did not know how Tseng felt about it, but it made her even more miserable to watch him eat – do anything at all. Having always been so very skilled at everything, everything he seemed to do these days looked so very inept. It hurt to watch him and she knew she had been avoiding him because of that. Well, she had also been avoiding him because of the last date. Not that he had been around very much. He had mostly talked to technicians about the prosthesis and prepared for the upcoming surgery. Had had the mako-treatments and long meetings with doctors.

She had not seen him in days before he had just, suddenly, out of the blue, been standing there in her office this morning and asked her if she would mind to join him for supper this evening. It had taken her several minutes to overcome her surprise and to be able to reply without stammer. She had not expected him to ask, not at all... not before the surgery. It made her feel anxious. surgeries did not always go well and it was still not that long ago that he had lost his arm.

But she wanted to see him. She wanted to see him so badly that she had been unable to think straight for almost the entire day and now, Tseng was coming down the corridor, that perfect calmness surrounding him. His hair bound up into a pony tail. She missed how it had flowed around his shoulders before, missed the smooth black, the velvet glitter in the light. And yet, watching him walk towards her with his stern expression, she realized that she did also like that haircut. The perfectly cut pony tail, not one strand escaping it and that it left much more of his face to look at. It made his eyes look much more profound. He smiled when he caught sight of her, a short, friendly upwards twist of his lips, almost an exulting expression for his face and Elena felt her heart hammering, smile back, could just stop herself from running towards him or bouncing up and down or doing anything similarly stupid with that radiant joy that suddenly filled her stomach.

Until her eyes caught his empty sleeve. It sent a shiver down her spine, she tried to keep her smile and looked away again in the same moment. She hoped – she hoped so very much that he would forgive Rufus for it. She knew it had been Rufus' fault or at least that he been cause to that situation. But he had paid so dearly, too. She still remembered how wrenched he had been. She had tried to hold it against Rufus, because someone just had to be responsible for that horrible mutilation, but she had been incapable of it. Every time she had seen Rufus – every time she had seen Tseng, every remorse had disappeared.

And now, while her heart was full of worry, it was still bouncing happily against her chest at Tseng's smile. The thought that he had _asked_ her to join him. That he had come. That he was smiling.

"Hello!" she said and did not know what to add.

Tseng smiled a little again. He looked worried, she noticed, and suddenly, her worry deepened even further. Had he heard, perhaps? Did he somehow know that the disappearings had not stopped?

"Hello, Elena. I'm sorry, am I late?"

She shook her head, almost frantically. "Not at all, Senpai. On the contrary, I was far too early. Um... how are you?" She sat into motion, too, told herself inwardly that whatever she said today, she must not mention the moon in any way.

"I am alright. How are you?"

"Fine, thank you."

Silence again and Elena had no idea what she was supposed to say. Talking about motion pictures was a stupid idea. No, she would not talk. She had talked far too much last time.

Tseng gave her a dinner tray, she thanked him, joined the queue for food, too. Food in Junon was not too bad. She would have been unable to cook half as well but... actually, she would have preferred it if she could have cooked together with Tseng, but that would mean inviting him over to her residence or being invited into his and... she did not even dare to dream of _that_. Gaia, even the idea of him putting out his jacket to help _her_ cook like she had once witnessed it at Healing Lodge made her fuzzy. She was not even aware what type of food she chose or to which table she led them, just felt her heart hammering to her throat with the idea that it was _him_ who was standing behind her and with whom she would be having supper. In the last moment, just as she put her dinner tray down at the table, she realized that she should have offered Tseng help with his tray because with one hand it had to be almost impossible to balance it. She damned herself that she had just walked away, looking for a table, had not thought about asking.

But when she turned to race back, Tseng was already approaching, carefully balancing the tray on his arm through all the other Shin-Ra employees who where having supper. She had been so wrong when she had called him inept! He manoeuvred through the room so smoothly, bent down in such a fluid motion and set the tray almost noiselessly down as if he had never done anything else in his life.

She sat down when he did, realized that she was staring at him and turned her attention to her food. She was not really hungry, found the silence oppressing in the same moment, was nothing but nervous. But she loved his silence! She loved the entire calm that was engulfing him even if he was as worried as now.

"How was your day?" She asked, nearly breathed in her food. She could not believe it that he had indeed asked her to join him and that he was sitting there right opposite to him.

"Quite alright. The doctor informed me on last details for the surgery."

Elena nodded, noticed that Tseng did not look that alright. He looked preoccupied.

"I had a conversation with the mayor, too. Tomorrow, the verdicts will be read. Around noon."

Elena nodded again, did not trust herself to speak in case she started babbling again.

"They'll be all executed. Even Reeve's lawyers won't be able to change that, I think," he continued. "Reeve surely made sure it's a fair trail, and with all the evidence there is I am pretty sure they will be executed. I don't think there's a way to avoid death sentence nowadays if you ordered torture and murder on innocent."

Elena contemplated a moment, looking at her food and looking at Tseng. It looked laborious how he worked his way through his food with only one hand. The other sleeve looked so sadly empty and yet, it jerked every time Tseng's plate slid a little. Elena knew that they said it was best to attach a prosthesis before the body could get used to living without one, still, it made her feel exceedingly sad. She already had her mouth open again when she stopped herself, just in the last moment. She did not want to worry Tseng, especially not before such a crucial day as tomorrow. It was best not to tell him that, somehow, the disappearances of New Geostigma patients were still continuing – or at least, that she thought so.

So, she just nodded, knew that it was somewhat artificial but tried to hide it behind her food. "I still can't say that I like death sentence. Not... not after all that happened..." She sighed.

Tseng smiled a little at her. "Perhaps we are just lucky."

"To have such a … powerful boss?" Elena asked carefully.

Tseng smiled, just a tiny movement of the edges of his mouth. "Powerful? He is at least trying everything in the world to remain powerful. Yes... I think we are lucky that he is our boss." Tseng hesitated for a moment, a frown forming slowly on his face. "I'm worried about him."

Elena blinked, surprised by the lowly spoken words. She bit her lip. "Is he... I mean... he did not seem too bad to me..."

Tseng lifted his shoulders, just a little bit. "He tries not to show it, but... he's not getting any better. He does not look good."

Elena studied him, thinking that Tseng himself did not look too well, either. Worried. "Do you think it's still New Geostigma?"

"It should not be New Geostigma. I saw it disappear and he hasn't shown any reactions to materia afterwards. Still, he should have taken a rest afterwards. We all could do with a rest, I think. He's worn, he looks tired and... ."

"Do you think it's still..." Elena lowered her voice. "_her_?"

Tseng gave something close to a sigh. "I think it's the situation, it's the aftermath of New Geostigma, but, yes, I think it's her, too."

"Bitch."

Tseng frowned and Elena almost clasped her hand in front of her mouth. They had of course discussed the situation at length. Tseng had been the one who had told the three other Turks about the antidote and the letter from Tifa. Elena did not want to remember how horrible he had looked when he had entered the room with that empty box in hand. They had all agreed that Tifa had behaved most shabbily.

"I'm sorry. I should not use such language."

"No, it's alright," Tseng shook his head and Elena was surprised. That he did not repudiated her choice of words and even approved of them said quite a lot about his own feelings on the matter.

Elena studied him. "Do you think there's anything we can do?"

Tseng looked at his food. "What would you do? I mean, if it were you?"

Elena hesitated a moment. "Do you know... I mean... was he just interested or..." For her, it had never been easy to judge. She had of course watched Rufus around Tifa to figure somehow out that he was not uninterested, but until Tifa had suggested that she would take Rufus in until they had secured everything, she would have judged that Rufus merely liked Tifa and played along with _her_ approaches.

Tseng did not even lifted his shoulders. "I think he committed himself very far."

The words hung heavily between them. Elena pierced another bit of food whose taste she did not even notice. Tseng looked even more beautiful when he was that worried, she thought and in the same moment, she scold herself for being so unfeeling as to think something like that when she should have felt sorry for Rufus. But Rufus and love in the same sentence... that did not fit together. Not at all. That was like Elena and Tseng dating... surely, doomsday was not far away anymore.

"What would you do? If it were you?" Tseng repeated, enforced.

Elena frowned. She was not sure whom Tseng was referring to – if she were Rufus or if she were him? But in both events, she did not know how to answer. She had been with the Turks long enough not to have any friends outside them anymore. She had had before Meteor but afterwards... if you decided to stay loyal to Shin-Ra, people quickly seemed to quit liking you. Before Meteor, she would have talked about it with one of her friends. But after Meteor, everything had become more serious, even love. It hurt more to be in love with Tseng, and it certainly was more important to see him at least interested. His smiles.

"I don't know," she replied at last. "Talking is always good but... I mean... Um... Perhaps we _should_ go on holidays. I mean, holidays always help. It gets things off the mind. Of course, the best thing would be not to see her again in... well, in quite a while. That's always best. But I don't think that will be a problem. Will it?"

Tseng shook his head. "No, I'll deal with Edge as soon as... when I finally have my arm."

"You don't think he'll want revenge, do you? I mean... for him, being left back for Cloud... he would see it as a defeat, wouldn't he?" It was what she had been fearing ever since Tseng had told them about the matter. Rufus was not someone who took defeats easily.

Tseng looked agonized. "He won't order revenge. It wouldn't be good for Shin-Ra's image if he did now." He paused a moment, put his fork away.

"But if he would... would you? I mean, only hypothetically, for, I mean, I don't think Rufus would ever... um..." Elena stopped herself from ranting on and nearly clasped her hand in front of her mouth again. It had been too quick. Now, Tseng had to feel as if she was questioning his loyalty!

Tseng looked at her and in the same moment, with a thundering heart, she realized that up until now, he had always looked at her with a warm spark in his eyes. It was only now that this spark was missing that she noticed and it made her heart beat against her chest, choke her breath and let her feel all warm inside. "I would kill her. I would tell him that it would be a stupid order, but if he insists, I _would_ kill her." He did not offer an explanation and Elena felt her inside almost burning as his eyes grew warmer again and as it slowly sank what loyalty meant for Tseng. And, yes, 'her'. Of course, Rufus would not order Tseng to kill Cloud. Kill Tifa because it would be too much trouble to kill Cloud, not to be found out _and_ run the risk of being refused again.

She swallowed, smiled a little at Tseng, felt so very honoured that he had answered her. That he was not loosing his patience. She was happy that Tseng did not ask her in return if she would.

"So, you've forgiven him, for your arm, I mean?", she asked, because it was suddenly too silent again and she did not like the silence and because she had always wondered. In the same moment, though, she asked herself if she was not way too impertinent.

But Tseng smiled. Much to her surprise, he smiled at her. "We are _Turks_, Elena. I saved my charge, what do I care about my arm? Besides..." He gave a sigh. "Rufus was locked away in Junon because he tried to kill his father. He engaged terrorists for that scheme. He engaged other terrorists alone on the top of Shin-Ra tower all on his own. He faced Kadaj alone on a top of yet another tower. I've been telling him for – six years that he will, one day, get himself killed with such reckless actions. Do you really think that I truly believed for one moment he'd _listen_ to me when I told him not to do anything reckless that night?" Tseng pushed his tablet away. He looked tired, worn, there was that deep crease between his eyebrows. "I think Rufus doesn't think about his safety because he believes that this is what he pays us for. If he jumps off a building, he expects us to be there to catch him. It's silly for someone as smart as him but... well." He gave a sigh, rubbed his eyes. "He signalled me to follow when he left that room with that Fontainebleau girl. I should have stopped him then, but... I misjudged the situation. I thought he was safe. I thought I would be quickly enough at his side in case something happened. I did not expect any soldiers to turn up and keep me from following him into that stupid room. Nothing suggested that they had even _hired _soldiers. Or that they were as well armed or as well prepared for our arrival." He gave another sigh.

Elena starred at him, felt tears stinging in her eyes. Was that indeed why he had been so very low all these weeks? Because he felt _responsible_? She had thought it was because of his _arm _and because it had forced him to resigned as Head of the Turks. Not because of something like _that_. And slowly, one and one were adding up in her head. There had been no need for him to resign. Not with that prosthesis he would get. She felt her throat tightening.

"Is _that_ why you resigned from Turk-duty?", she asked, carefully, although she knew the answer already.

He just looked at her.

Elena could not but stare at him. At those dark, dark black eyes. She had not, ever in life, thought that Tseng would ever doubt things as much as she always did. He was Tseng. So strong, like a rock in a storm. He always did things right. When something went wrong, it was not because _he_ did something wrong but from uncontrollable circumstances. At least, that was what she had always thought. But now, he seemed to think he had failed his own standards. It made her angry. She knew that those standards were what made him so strong and so perfect and so calm, but nonetheless, it made her angry. How could he be so stupid to blame himself? How could he even excuse Rufus' recklessness and in the same moment hold himself responsible for things that had been way beyond his control?

"Tseng-san," she said, slowly, syllable for syllable, not even aware of the words, staring down at her fingers, anger chocking her throat. "Excuse me, Senpai, but, with all due respect, you're an idiot." In the same moment, she asked herself if indeed she had been stupid enough to say that aloud.

Judging by the way Tseng was staring at her, she must have had, though. She never had seen him staring. Not like that, anyway. Not completely befuddled. She felt the tears close to welling over. Was he also that stupid about The Moon? Did he perhaps feel that he was responsible for what happened to her?

"Idiot?" he echoed and Elena could see that, below that frown, he _did not even comprehend_.

She brushed her hair aside, even more furious now. How foolish could one be? How could he hurt himself so much? "Yes!" She knew she was almost shouting these words if one could shout in harsh whispers. "Tseng-san! Your charge is alive! You are alive! They have been caught and – your charge is still walking! You've bloody done your job! As long as your charge is still walking, you've done your job!" Furiously, she wiped the tear away that had escaped her eyes despite everything. "What is it with you men and your effing pride? You can't control this bloody world! As long as we walk away alive, we win!"

Tseng blinked, once, twice and Elena felt her fury and pain flaring high before they died in cold agony when she realized that she had not only called her boss and idiot but used swear words in front of him, and tried to teach him about his job. This just was not good. This was hell. She should have swallowed those words! But she could not. Her damnable mouth just would not stay shut. How could he be so stupid, doing something like that to himself? He had saved Rufus' life, and all that seemed to count nothing in face of that for once, he had not excessed a situation perfectly. Rufus had saved his life. But no, instead of taking it as a proof of how much Rufus valued him, Tseng moped about how he had failed for once in his bloody life.

In the same moment, Tseng started laughing. It was something that she had rarely witness before and it took her so much by surprise that she forgot to breath for several moments in a row. She could not but stare at him and failed to understand the world. Why was he laughing? How could he be laughing after she had just called him an idiot and almost worse?

"Elena!" he was still laughing and Elena understood nothing, felt as if the floor had been pulled away just underneath her and she was falling.

"You are too quick with your conclusions! I do entirely agree with you."

Elena stared at him. "You do?"

Tseng nodded. "Of course I do! We did everything humanly possible to secure the manor. Even in retrospect, I don't know how we should have found out that they had an army lurking in their basement. Or that they would launch the riot. It was impossible. That doesn't mean that as a Turk, I shouldn't have found out anyway, but … if I'd blame myself for every incident that went wrong, every coincident that ruined a plan, I would be completely unfit to be Head of the Turks. I'd have to blame myself for Meteor, too. For everything. There are things that are beyond control. I feel sorry for what happened and I feel I should have protected Rufus and Shin-Ra more, but when all is said and done, one can't do better than one's best."

Elena gulped and felt herself blush fiercely. She had been so naïve! Of course Tseng was not her! Of course Tseng was not stupid enough to blame himself for things that were beyond his control! She could not look at him, could only stare at her plate, and hoped very much that the floor _would_ open below her and swallow her and never spit her out, ever again. For she would never in life be able to face him again.

"I'm... I'm... I'm so terribly sorry, Tseng-san!" she heard her mouth babble from far away, while around her, the world was sinking in chaos. She hoped very much that this was just a horrible, horrible nightmare. "I... I did not, I mean... I sorry I shouted at you... I mean, I shouldn't have doubted you and... um... um... I'm so sorry!"

Tseng was not replying and she was sure that this was the worst date ever. She had thought, after the last one, that things could not get any worse but... obviously they just had.

"Um...," she said, trying to make it an excuse by looking at her watch. "I... um... I better get going... um...?"

Out of the edge of her eye, she saw Tseng rising and all she wanted was to run away and hide somewhere very, very far away and never come back. Looking at the ground, she brought her dinner tray away and did not even dare to look at Tseng when they had finally reached the exit.

Still, she forced herself to look up and looked him straight in the eyes. "I'm sorry for my impertinence, Tseng-san. I... I know it cannot be excused, but... still... I'm ..."

Then, Tseng smiled at her, just a little bit. "Don't always apologise, Elena. You were perfectly right to call me an idiot to what us _supposed_ I was thinking. Thank you for your company." He gave her a curt nod and disappeared into the next corridor and Elena was ready to find the highest building in all Junon and throw herself off it.

* * *

Rufus was standing behind his desk, face to the window. Maybe he was staring outside, maybe he was too deep in thoughts to notice that the ocean was not very illuminated to say the least and actually not much to be seen. It was almost pitch black in the office, long shadows swallowing the corners, almost all the furniture, almost him, too. Outside, it was sable night, the only light that oozed in were the reflections of the town's energy waste. It was so dark that his white form barely stood out amongst the shadows. He was not wearing his jacket, not even his vest, the white of his clothes as pale as his skin, the black below all consuming.

Elena had always thought that Rufus was wearing all those layers of clothes because he was perpetually cold. Seeing him now in the reflection of faint light, she realized that it was not quite that simple; he had to have chosen layered clothing as a youth when he had needed to add to his frame to look more imposing. More mature.

Noticing that even now he had not fully filled out his frame made her realize that despite everything they were still very young. Not even thirty. It was a strange realization, for deep inside, she felt so very old already.

"Sir?"

Rufus turned his head into her direction. "Elena. Please close the door."

She nodded. "Yes, Sir." She stopped in front of his desk, clasped her hands behind her back. In the faint light, she saw several schemata lying there, names that were connected with lines, the lines annotated. It was too dark to make out the words.

"Those are schemata of Shin-Ra's present structure. Which companies we own or which we control." Rufus must have caught her looking. "The one on top is the scheme for Edge."

Elena stepped closer and realized that it was not just too dark to read the words but that she also did not know the letters. The schemata looked complicated. Even the topmost tangled itself over the page. It made her feel uneasy he had told her for she was not quite sure whether he trusted her enough to tell her or whether he trusted that she would be unable to read them.

"Um, Sir... shouldn't you destroy them? I mean, in case someone, a spy or something, wants to steal them?"

"The lighter is broken." He nodded into the direction of a lighter that was lying next a shallow brass bowl, barly visibale in the shadows. It was the lighter from their common room Elena noticed. "Try it."

Elena blinked. His voice had been almost soft but she was unable to place the note that had been swinging in it. She hesitated.

"That was an order." He was still speaking to her over his shoulder.

"Yes, Sir." Although, again, his voice had been nothing but soft, it had left no room for interpretation.

Gingerly, she picked up the lighter. It was Tseng's, however he had come into the possession of a lighter that was engraved with his Wutaien name symbol. She carefully opened it, moved it into a comfortable position between her fingers and flicked it. A flame sparked from the wick, as easily as from every other lighter. She ask herself if Rufus had lied and only waited for her to burn the paper. In his place, she would not have wanted to come in contact with fire ever again.

Rufus was still staring outside. "If _you_ get it to work burn the paper."

"Yes, Sir," Elena mumbled. This time, there was yet another note in his voice she could not place. It was not a pleasant one.

The paper quickly caught fire and the fumes started filling the room, sucked away by the air conditioner. In the warm light, Elena saw the marks that time had left on the old desk. Draught let the fire shiver in the bowl. Despite the season it was cold in Junon.

"Tseng's alright. He's awake again and he's feeling well," she offered into the silence of the dark room. The fire in the bowl died away as the paper curled up in a black ball with fierce red edges. She still could not believe Tseng had willingly talked to her again. He had not even thrown her out of the room when she had entered. Instead, he had smiled at her and thanked her for coming, and it was that smile that made her heart thunder like mad. He was not holding it against her what she had said and after all, his last words after their truly dismal second date had been at least to some extend a praise. Well, maybe not. Maybe he just thought her silly. But at least, he still talked to her.

Rufus did not reply.

Elena stumped out the fire and the coal into fine soot so nobody would be able to read what this documents had once said. She felt insecure being alone with Rufus. She never knew what he was thinking, always had the impression that she was doing everything wrong. Wronger even then when Tseng was around.

"So, tell me, why did you want to speak to me about the murder of New Geostigma patients? I thought with today's verdict that file has closed."

Elena hesitated just a moment, rubbing the soot from her fingers, straightening her back. "I should have thought so, too, Shachou, only... um... well, if they are really the ones responsible, the murders should have stopped, should they not?"

Rufus turned around, narrowing his eyes, his face only half illuminated by the shine of the town. "I'm not aware there have been new murders that fit the scheme. And I do receive reports form here, Edge, even Kalm."

"Well, Shachou, Sir," Elena answered quickly before her courage could leave her. "No murders _reported_, Sir, and no bodies _found_, but... but...um... at least two other New Geostigma patients have disappeared. One in Edge and one here. Maybe three, even. I don't know about the third one, yet." So, this was it, then. Now, the cat was out of the bag. She felt bad about it. Even in the faint light it was obvious that Tseng had been right and that Rufus did not look good. Not at all. Worn, tired and edgy. Unhappy, maybe even. Who would have not been if one had almost lost one's empire once again. If everything seemed to fall apart just by looking at it. She suddenly, despite all her anxiousness, felt so very sorry for him.

Rufus was frowning now, deeply, slowly pushed his hair back. "How long have you known about this already?"

"The first man disappeared a few days after... well, after the riot. I've... I've only noticed because during the investigations, I kept track of the patients. Then, five days ago, the second one disappeared and... I've started looking, asking around. Nobody knows where they've gone to. And, well, yesterday there's been number three. I mean, I don't really know if she's missing, but..."

Rufus nodded. "... it seems likely that she's gone, too. You'll get some officers to look into the incident and I'll get you a permission to question our murderers again."

She nodded. "Yes, Sir."

Rufus was silent for another moment, studied her in the twilight that came in through the windows. She could barely see his face, but she did not like the cold expression on it. "You would make an adequate Head of the Turks, I suppose."

Elena froze in her movement, staring at her boss, her inside growing cold. "You shouldn't offer me that position, Shachou! It's Tseng's."

Rufus almost smirked, but there was no mirth to it. "He resigned, didn't he?" Was there mockery in his voice?

Elena stared hard, very, very hard at her shoes. She had thought about Tseng's and her conversation almost the entire last night long. She had not been able to go to sleep, feeling so... stupid. But with dawn, it had occurred to her, that maybe, she had not been that completely wrong. She knew Tseng loved his position more than everything else. That job was his life. If he was not angry with Rufus and his arm could be replaced, he must have resigned because he _had_ felt responsible for what had happened to Shin-Ra. Maybe, he did not feel guilty about it, but he might feel – might have felt – responsible for it. But Elena could not imagine him not being Head of the Turks. She could also not imagine herself going out with her own superior, either, but so far, their dates had not been promising to the least extend. But just what was it indeed with men and their pride? First, Tseng resigned because he felt he screwed up and now, Rufus was not even thinking of keeping him because Tseng had had the cheek to resign on him. Or, maybe, Elena thought, because Rufus felt that for whatever reason he had earned Tseng's resignation.

Or maybe, she was thinking entirely too much. She was used to behave like an idiot herself, but since when had life become so… Byzantine and people she admired so utterly stupid?

She knew that being disrespectful was a crime whose extend was beyond redemption and she had never, ever before yesterday dared to be disrespectful by intend to neither Rufus nor Tseng, however often she had witness Reno do it. But maybe, this was the week in which she would accomplish both. Well, Reno was still alive, she supposed and so, she took a very deep breath and closed her eyes while she felt the world around her going cold, reminding herself that she was not supposed to burble everything out but rather to be subtle and short.

"Um, Shachou, I'm sorry, but, um… you let him."

Rufus' eyes pierced her and she felt her heart stopping. He would kill her. He had been in a bad mood the entire evening long and now, she had even dared to lecture him! What was wrong with her? He would kill her! She was certainly wrong with her assumption again and now, he would find out, and different from Tseng, he would not find it funny at all but... shoot her, fire her, everything!

"I... I... I'm sorry, Shachou, Sir! I... I didn't mean to be disrespectful!", she stammered.

"Whatever," he sneered. "See to it that the door is closed when you leave. Good night."

He turned and left Elena standing in front of the desk, going from hot to cold and back again. She would have felt much better if he had she had told her to go and drop dead or fiercely reproached her. But 'whatever' left her completely insecure. Most likely, he was furious now.

She bit her lip, very hard, and tip-toed from the office. Who was she, even, trying to fix other people's problems, if she did not even managed to fix her own but accumulated them by the score wherever she walked? Maybe, she needed a very soft bench and someone to tell her how screwed up her childhood had been. Maybe they all did.

* * *

_So, once again, this is it for now. The next chapter will deal with Tifa and that she has no argument._

_Again, I would be very honoured to know what you think about the chapter and whether I should continue with the story. _

_I am also open to ideas/ suggestions. _

_So, please humour me and review._


	33. Wherein Tifa Has No Argument

_**Licoriceallsorts**: Thank you again for your wonderful review and for pointing out some mistakes!_

_**Whatever ()**: Yes, this is (edvantually) going to become a Rufus/Tifa fic. At least, that's the plan._

_So, here comes the next chapter. This time, we'll learn a little more about Tifa's point of view.  
_

_TV-spot inspired by the Doujinshi 'Zero' which I happened to run into months ago.  
_

_Again, if you see any mistakes (wrong preposistions, wrong words used, wrong spelling etc), pray tell me about it; I'm also writing this story as an exercise to improve my English._

___I hope you'll enjoy._

* * *

Chapter 33: Tifa: Wherein Tifa has no argument

"_As a symbol of sin, hurled from another world, it towers over the eerie rubble of the Fallen City, itself a ruin of Shin-Ra's glory. Behold, everyone, this graveyard of guilt, the feast that quietness and darkness hold over Midgar today. Once called 'Mako City', Shin-Ra's symbol of might and prosperity is nothing more today than a symbol for a man's sins and his punishment. Hubris and Nemesis of not even a dynasty..."_

'Hubris and Nemesis?', Tifa thought, staring at the screen. Rufus would not like that. If he even listened. She did not even know if he watched much television at all. Where was he now? What was he doing? Was he even still thinking of her? If he was, it would not be kindly.

She certainly felt more than guilty about the way she had treated Rufus. She had tried to reassure herself that she had not had a choice. That she had had to choose between the vial and Cloud. Or between Rufus and the children. But it was all nonsense. She could have lied to Reeve when he had made her promise that she would stay if he gave the vial Cloud had given him for his patients in her name to Tseng. She could have smuggled the children into the helicopter and then – what then? On the TV-screen, a close up on the ruins of Shin-Ra tower passed by.

She liked Rufus and she had enjoyed being with him. Very much. But they were so very different in almost every respect and she still did not know if she could trust him fully. A man who did not even _think _before teaching a child how to use a gun. A man to whom life was not nearly as sacred as to her. Whose life was his company. Who had risked his life to save a friend. Who had told her that he loved her only because he had been too tired not to tell her. Who did so although they rarely were of one opinion and despite the fact that he clearly had not liked where she came from and well, how she dressed, almost everything.

A man who certainly hated her for what she had done.

Why were the right choices always the wrong ones?

She stared at the TV-screen where the woman was still busily talking into her mic and another part of ruined Midgar was shown:

"_...But the ruins of Midgar do not only hold sin but also salvation, for below the rubble in what was the former slum, there is a church which contains the spring. It was long rumoured that this is exactly the water that healed Geostigma and new rumours have it that finally, it might be turned into a Spa for our all benefit..."_

"Turn it out."

Tifa turned, startled. Cloud was standing in the doorway, suddenly, as it seemed, glaring at the TV and the woman who was friendly babbling into her microphone.

"Why?" Tifa frowned. She did not like the dark expression on Cloud's face.

"I don't want the children to see that Shin-Ra crap in my house."

Tifa blinked at him, felt anger rising, the anger she had been fighting down for days. "Your house?" she gave back, sharper than she had intended to. The first days had been so beautiful. Like always. She had fancied herself happy. And then, slowly, it had started with the small things. Like now. 'Shin-Ra crap'. 'My house'. His house indeed! She felt the anger simmering under her skin, did not put out the TV where images of the church were flickering over the screen now. She knew she should shut up. Before, she had never minded if he had said things like that. Because he would not have had, maybe.

Cloud frowned. He did not seem to understand, but the frown was an angry one. "Well, yeah, I don't want them to come into contact with those – those …."

"Since when is this your house?"

Cloud blinked, puzzled, but the frown deepened. "We _live_ here, of course it is my house!"

This time, Tifa snapped the TV out. However much she had shut up the last few days to make things right again – because he had brought that vial and saved Denzel – there were a few things that definitely needed to be said. "To be living in a place, one has to spent more than _just a few hours_ a year in it."

"Well, I am, am I not? - What is wrong with you? I'm back, so..."

"You've been living every place _but_ here, Cloud. This isn't your house anymore. This isn't even your home anymore. You're just a visitor."

"Tifa!" She could see the puzzlement on his face, a puzzlement she would have found endearing only months ago, but now, it angered her as much as the bitterness in her own voice worried her. The indignation that was underlying his expression angered her. He had not offered an excuse, not a single explanation of where he had been. And now, his face darkened into a deep scowl. "This is Shin-Ra's fault, isn't it? You are saying that because of those bastards!"

"This has nothing to do with Shin-Ra! - You just come and go as it pleases you, Cloud! And when you're back, you just expect it to be like when you left! You've been gone for over half a year and you walk back in her and expect us to have put our lives on pause, waiting for you!"

"You never complained before! You know I need to get out from time to time! And – you didn't ever mind!"

Tifa glared at him. "I didn't mind as long as it is just a few days. I told you. I told you over and over again to call when you stay longer. But you never did, did you? You didn't even answer my effing messages. Because, whatever you are doing is just so effing more important than our life here!"

"What? No! - Tifa, you are turning this whole thing upside down! I listened to your messages! And, of course I _care_! That's why I went looking for that antidote! Of course I care! How can you say I don't?"

Tifa felt her mouth curling up in furious anger, suddenly recalling the unwelcome image of Rufus doing just the same, "So, either, you _knew _what was wrong with Denzel and _did not even tell me_ before you just left – without a message, without anything! - or you did not and just went because you yourself were infected. _Without_ telling me, too!"

"I... I didn't want to bother you!"

"Oh? And how _long_ did you think it would take me to notice that Denzel was infected, too? I'm not dumb and I'm not blind, Cloud!"

"You could have waited! Instead of meddeling with Shin-Ra!" He shot it at her so viciously, so full of reproach that she almost backed away. It was another of these 'small things'. After the first few days, he had made a habit of hinting with almost every word he said that she had 'meddled' with Rufus. He always denied he had hinted at it when she replied to it and now, the viciousness of his reproach angered her the more. She was sick of it, this entire dancing around the topic, the half-fights in doorways, the permanent sulk Cloud had developed after... well, after she had told him that she was presently in no mood to share a bed. - Although it had been _him_ who had always insisted on separate beds.

"I told you before: I. Did. Not. Meddle. With. Shinra! He had good reasons to be here! And you made me wait for more than half a year!"

"Yeah? What kind of good reasons? That kind of reasons where you...?"

"Do you even know why I was dealing with them? Do you even know how – how _desperate _ we were? - I went to see them because _you_ didn't pick up your phone, you bloody idiot! I _begged_ you to pick up! I thought you were dead! No one had seen you in months, no one knew where you had gone to, you never bothered to answer, your phone was dead! I thought _you_ were dead in some ditch! I went to see them because I thought _they_ might know! I thought they did something to you!"

"Well, they didn't! You know I always come back! - How could you even go to Shin-Ra? They are – you know what they did! All _they_ want is do it again! They screw with your brain! Rufus does!"

Tifa sucked in a deep breath. She was not going to storm from this room, she was going to get a hold on herself and not let him accuse her. "How was I to know you would be back? You didn't even bother to call! There hadn't been a message in months! I went to them because they were my _last resort_. They did not cast me out when the snowstorm made it impossible to walk home. They even treated me kindly! They even let Denzel go after he tried to kill Rufus!" Although they had given Denzel quite a scare.

"Denzel – what? Why would he do that?"

Tifa crossed her arms. "Maybe because he heard us talk?"

"I'll talk to him! He won't ever do that again!"

"No, you won't!"

Cloud stared at her, his eyes flaring with mako. And with anger. "He tried to _kill_ someone! I'm bloody well going to talk to him!"

"It's been more than _two months_, Cloud! What good does it do to talk to him now? It's long over! - You weren't there when you had the bloody chance to talk to him!" Suddenly, the thought crossed her mind that, if she would be having the same argument with Rufus, Rufus would have certainly not digressed to discuss the attempted murder. It gave her a stab that Rufus, in all events, would not even have cared much about attempted murder. Which made her almost thankful for Cloud's digress.

Cloud's face closed up again. "And you started meddling with Shinra."

"I told you I didn't! - I fucking explained to you what happened! That he was here because they destroyed Shin-Ra tower. Because he would have been killed otherwise!" Because she had finally accepted that the man that was now standing in front of her was dead and had been more than ready to move on. "I thought you were bloody dead!"

"Well, maybe I'm sorry I'm not!"

She studied him, tried to summon up all the affection she had once felt for him, but all she could feel was anger. Anger that he had come back and dared to behave as if he had left just yesterday. Anger that he wanted to have his head petted for bringing that infernal vial. Anger that he accused her of being unfaithful while he did not even care enough about them to phone once. Not to tell her what had happened to him, not to their anniversary, not to Marlene's birthday, not even to Spring Festival. Nor any of the others. Anger that he did not even see that point. "Well, maybe you are," she gave back, coldly, and turned.

"Where are you going?", Cloud snapped.

"For a walk. To see Reeve, to the church. I don't know."

"You can't just go away! - We haven't made up, yet!"

Tifa smiled and for a moment felt that warmth back inside. "Okay," she nodded. "I'm sorry I shouted at you."

Cloud blinked. "Is that all?"

Tifa frowned. "For what do you expect me to be sorry for, then?" Since when had she gotten so rational during argumentations? Since when had she become so cynic that she reckoned that _Cloud_ was not sorry for anything? Since when was she planning the next arguments ahead to outmanoeuvre Cloud? Since when did she almost _sound_ like Rufus when she was upset?

"What? - You said this wasn't my home! You said I can't teach the children what's right and what's wrong! - You never excused for making out with Rufus!"

Tifa felt her anger rising again. "I did not make out with him!" Since when, actually, did it not bother her anymore to lie? "Shouldn't the fact that I didn't even hesitate a moment to choose you be proof enough for that? - Don't you think that if … if there had been anything, I would have chosen him? He was there when you weren't! He saved Denzel's life! He's got all the money to finance their education, he had the decency to keep me informed _even though we were enemies_! So, why the hell do you think I'm still here?" In the same moment, she realised that she had only mentioned positive attributes concerning Rufus and that, if she wanted Cloud to swallow any argument, that surely was the wrong way. "He's a good-damn liar! He – he tried to teach the children how to use fire weapons! He wanted to turn Aeris' church into a Spa and he just. Effing. Killed. People because they were in his way! He almost had me executed, too! - How can you even dare to accuse me of... of … bloody even _wanting_ to snog him?" There... now that were a few lies to add to her ever-growing list... she should have never gone to that stupid building in winter.

Cloud stared at her, blinked, white anger flaring up and then disappearing. "So... you agree he's bad?"

Tifa gave a sigh. "He is not bad. He's... you used to tell me, during the Kadaj incident, that we should feel sorry for him because of all that happened. You used to tell me, too, that you thought he was really trying to make up. Well, I believe you were right."

Again, there was anger on Cloud's face. "So, you're sorry?"

No, I'm not, she thought. "What are _you_ sorry for, exactly?"

"I?" Cloud blinked. "Well... um, I guess it wasn't right to tell you to put out the TV."

"Having been gone for over half a year? Not informing anyone at all? Does that ring a bell?"

"Um, I guess I'm sorry for that, too."

So, you guess you are, hn? How often exactly had he said that? Maybe it was because she had found that look of … well, puppy-eyes which so much begged to make up so very endearing that she had not been able to make her point until now.

"Okay," she said. "I'll just go and pick Marlene up from her friends and tomorrow, we'll all go to the church, how about it?"

Cloud smiled at her. "That sounds nice!"

She slipped passed Cloud before he could even make up his mind to perhaps hug her for reconciliation. She did not want him to hug him. Not now.

The air outside was not any better than inside. It had turned hot in the last few days and now, the heat was simmering in the streets, standing between the buildings, unmoved with never a breath of air from the burning desert around Edge. As if the town itself was a huge oven in which they were all baking. The flaring sun was just kissing the horizon, it was late in the evening, but the streets were still cooking with the heat. It would be that way all summer long, but it was at least way better than living under the plate. At times like this, death rates had mounted with the seconds and even the summer storms had brought nothing but the infernal sand below the plate. Here, one still had the dust, but at least, one also had the relief.

She was sure Shin-Ra had had swimming pools. WRO had quite a few of them for this kind of weather. But she did not want to think of Rufus and swimming pools as it reminded her of that flaring night with that fiery burning pool, and how they had pulled him out, half drowned. The tar was hot through her shoes and she felt relieved to be out of the oppressing living-room. Away from Cloud.

She was not even sure whether she should not feel guilty about what had happened between her and Rufus. At least not about that part when she had – in that streaming cold rain – kissed him. She had firmly believed Cloud to be dead, then. Otherwise... well, otherwise, she would have never gone to see Shin-Ra. Not to mention help them.

But the moment Cloud had appeared it had been clear to her that in the end, she had to stay with him. Hell would have broken loose if she had chosen Rufus. Reeve, certainly, would have been on Cloud's side and she was quite sure that at the moment, things were bad enough for Shin-Ra without having to deal with a hostile WRO. Cloud would have moved heaven and earth to get the children away from "bad" influence – to get _her_ away from them, too. And she was certain Barret would not have suffered it if she had taken Marlene to stay with Shin-Ra. She would have had to cut all her ties to her friends. And while she did not speak so very often to Barret, Yuffi or even Nanaki, they were her friends. Vincent might have understood, but Vincent was most of the times so distant that she did not even know how to talk to him.

She certainly did not like Rufus enough to severe all her ties.

And last but not least, there was Cloud. She had always felt, ever since she had been a small child, that she and Cloud just meant-to-be. She had never doubted that. When he had left for Soldier – to become a second Sephiroth – she had chosen training to be able to fight at his side, one day. When she had gone to Midgar, it had been to find him. So, she had not doubted for one moment when he had been back what she had had to do. Tifa love Cloud. That was like water was wet or the sky was blue. And yet, when she saw him, when he walked into a room, she did not fell much. It did not matter very much anymore.

And then, there was another reason why she would have always chosen Cloud over Rufus, whatever the circumstances. And that was responsibility. Rufus, she made no doubt in the world, could well do without her. He did not need her. Not truly and certainly not as much as Cloud. Whatever happened, it seemed to her, Rufus would pick himself up and continue walking. He would square his shoulders and however much it hurt, he would pick up the pieces and keep going. Cloud would not. Cloud needed her to come back to, to lean on and to manage life for him. He needed someone who would smile at him and make him feel welcome when he returned home, someone who was capable of dealing with life's mysterious ways. He needed her protection and however much she felt sorry for Rufus and wanted to protect him, too (he would sent her to hell if ever she voiced that), Cloud needed her much more.

At least, that had been what she had thought.

So, it had only been logical to stay with Cloud. Even if it did not make her happy anymore.

The street was emptying, she heard children shouting, the air filled with the stale smell of barbecue, although it was not entirely allowed to barbecue in the dry season. The sun was disappearing behind the rubble and she had not even noticed the ill smell that came from the rubble this year. Maybe, it would increase once the summer had really started? Or maybe, the air was bad enough already, filled with the stink of all the exhaustion fumes and the building sides digging themselves deeper and deeper into old Midgar. By the end of the summer, they would have certainly reached the church, she thought. Maybe even by the end of spring... well, the pre-baking that went as spring in this part of the world.

The few trees in the streets had exploded into green and people were watering them furiously to keep them in bloom.

Still rather deep in thought, she stopped at a door of a small house built shortly after Meteor. It had been improved much since and looked almost respectable now.

She rang the bell and it did not take long until a young woman opened the door to her, a toddler balanced on her hip. The toddler was playing with the woman's braids and only gave her a look of distant curiosity before it continued playing with the braid – it put in his mouth.

"Oh, hi! - hey, Ted, not my braids! - Hello, Tifa! Marlene's in the back, come on in!"

Tifa smiled at the young woman. "Thanks Melissa. - Ted seems to grow with each day."

"He certainly gets heavier with each day – Ted!" Again, she took her braid away from the boy. "You must not put it you mouth, do you hear me?"

Whether the boy did or not, it still tried to grasp her braid. Tifa smiled. She liked the child. He would never remember anything about Meteor, anything about Shin-Ra – anything about the entire mess. He would grow up in a world were Reeve was preparing to build a parliament, where democratic voting would hopefully be normal by the time he was old enough to notice.

"The children are in the back. They put up the pool already... I can't believe it's so hot around this time of the year already! I do hope the summer will not be as bad... but that's a vain hope here, I guess!" Melissa laughed and guided her through a narrow corridor into a narrow and shadowy living-room that had kept surprisingly cool. It was tidy and rather sparse, but Tifa knew that Melissa and her girlfriend did not have much money. Melissa had used to work for Shin-Ra, but with the raid, she had lost her job and was looking for a new one ever since.

"So, has Cloud settled in again?" Melissa asked, pushing the curtain aside the shielded the door and led them into the terribly hot backyard.

Tifa nodded but felt her heart sink with that question. "Slowly but gradually, I'd say."

Melissa nodded sympathetically. "It takes a while, I daresay." She turned towards the garden and the children in it: "Marlene, come on over here, your mother is here!" She called at a mob of four children that were very busy around a tiny paddeling pool and an almost drowned tree.

It took a moment before Marlene's untidy mop of hair darted up from amongst the other children, until she had said good-bye and until she had come over to Tifa.

"Must I really go already?"

"Already? Young lady, it's almost dark outside and you'll have to go to school again on Monday and I bet you haven't done your homework, yet!"

Marlene hung her head but still grasped Tifa's hand who bid their farewell to Melissa.

"We played Turks again," Marlene informed her proudly when they left. By now, the street lights were on and darkness was sinking rapidly.

"That's nice, Marlene... but don't tell Cloud, will you?" The thought of 'Turks' in combination with that attack Melissa had hinted at gave her an very unwelcome sting in her stomach.

"Did you have a row again?" Marlene asked and she suddenly sounded very careful.

Tifa almost jumped. Why did Marlene say 'again'? She had not been arguing that much with Cloud – only once or twice told him when he went out to call and she had once or twice snapped at him when he had said something about Shin-Ra. "We don't row, Marlene."

"But... you get all loud and you are upset afterwards and Cloud is upset and..."

"It's no row, Marlene. Cloud and I, we need to discuss things, okay? We need to settle in again."

"You never... discussed things before. Denzel says so, too," Marlene insisted. She sounded worried.

"Don't worry, Marlene. We just need things to settle. Cloud's been gone for a long time and so many things have happened. Everything will be alright again."

"But we won't see the Turks or Rufus again, will we?" Marlene asked, quietly.

Tifa shook her head, surprised how much it bothered her.

Marlene was silent. She did not seem to like the reply. Tifa could not see much of her in the fuzzy light of the lamps, but she was hanging heavily on her arm, dragging behind. She would get over it, Tifa supposed. Rather quickly. Two or three weeks with the other children and she would have forgotten all about Rude. If only it would be quite as easy for her. But most likely, she would feel guilty about the way she had treated Rufus for a very, very long time. He had – for once, perhaps – not earned it and she hoped he hated her as much for it as she deserved.

It stung even more when she looked at Marlene and suddenly thought that, in his world, it had perhaps been a very kind thing to teach the girl about assembling guns... in his world where people were still trying to get rid of him, where people still blew up his power-plants. His world that in a way was hers, too.

When they turned around the corner into their street, Denzel was standing outside under one of the street lights and grinned broadly and in the next moment kicked against the street light, his eyes turned upward. The lantern flickered out only to go on again in the next moment which earned it another kick from Denzel.

"Denzel! Stop that at once!" Tifa snapped at him. Denzel spun around in the same moment, looking truly shocked. "You can't just kick against street lights! - What's the matter with you? Do you think you can just destroy other people's property? What about the poor people who will have to pass our house in complete darkness? Do you want them to break a bone?"

Denzel scowled something but was obviously ashamed, too. With hands deep in his pockets and a scowl on his face, he came towards them.

"Don't scowl at me, young man! You should know better than kicking street lights!" She opened the entrance to the bar and turned the sign in the window to 'open'. It was still about half an hour till nine o'clock, but there were always some early birds and she was not quite in a mood, yet, to face Cloud again.

"Go upstairs and brush your teeth, both of you. You'll still need to do your homework tomorrow and you'd better do it tomorrow morning. If you aren't finished till noon, Cloud and I won't take you to Aeris church, do you hear me? And Denzel, if I ever find out one of the lights in our streets breaks because someone kicked it, I'll take you to the police and you'll excuse to them in person. _And_ I'll take the cost of repairs from your pocket money."

Both children nodded, Marlene rather eagerly and beaming, Denzel rather sullen and ashamed. While they turned upstairs, Tifa started lighting the lamps in the bar. Out of the edge of her eye, she saw how the light flickered on the stairway when both children climbed upstairs. The network did not seem to be stable these days. In the last few days, she had witnessed it several times that the lights had flickered. Or the TV.

She realised that she was worried about Rufus.

* * *

_Thank you very much for reading. I hope you enjoyed._

_Next Chapter: Wherein Rufus deceides to reconstruct Shin-Ra. Or: In which we learn more about Tseng's prosthesis._

_If you have any ideas of what could happen/ advises/ encouragements, please review. _


	34. Wherein Rufus decides to reconstruct

_So... here is another chapter. I hope you'll like it!_

* * *

Chapter 34: Rufus: Wherein Rufus decides to restructure Shin-Ra

The razor was almost soft against his throat. Rufus could feel his carotid beat against the blade as he moved it upwards. The mirror image had its head slightly cocked and looked smugly back, chin tilted arrogantly upwards. Way too much arrogance in that posture. Just as it should have been.

He disrupted eye contact and lowered the razor into the water. It was still warm.

_Loser_, hm?

The diagrams he had drawn up yesterday had made more than evident what he had been fearing ever since they had moved back to Junon. He was loosing the overview. There were at least fifty companies Shin-Ra controlled directly or indirectly, and if he did not act soon, it would get out of hands. His table was covered in deluges of paper and, face it or not, he could not deal with them anymore. Shin-Ra needed restructuring and most of all, Shin-Ra needed him to be functioning.

He tried, hard. Had work to the dead of the night again the day before. And the day before that. Every single day for almost one and a half weeks. Ever since the riot.

He had accomplished much, spun Shin-Ra's web further, picked up so many pieces. Yet, it had not been enough. Shin-Ra was going to hell, slipping right from his fingers and he felt nothing but tired, exhausted and – empty.

_Loser_.

He closed his eyes. Even that word – so much motivation before – barely mattered anymore.

Still, he had to do something. But the only way to do so would be to throw off his cover. To integrate all those cover companies into Shin-Ra so it became one single company again instead of a zillion. It was still far too early for that. Reeve had the power to break up what he had built up so carefully over the last few months. Years.

And everything almost lost in just one night like he had almost killed Tseng. Just because he had been so foolish to think, once again, that he was better and knew better than the stupid nobility. Than Tseng. Or anybody else.

Because he was Rufus Shinra and just could not mistake. _Loser_ indeed.

But now, if he did not want the chaos to swallow him and take Shin-Ra down for ever, he had to restructure. As little as he seemed to care these days.

He splashed the warm water into his face to wash the rest of the soap away.

He would have to talk to Tseng.

Just another thing on that long list. Tseng's resignation had not come unexpected after the way he, Rufus, had acted. But Shin-Ra without Tseng as Head of the Turks that was as if the company was missing one of its most important limbs.

Rude had of course refused to become new Head of the Turk. Reno he had not even bothered asking. Elena – with a little more experience, she even had the making for a fine Head of the Turks, if only she had not been that insecure and her mouth so terribly loose. Her refusal yesterday in itself had not come as much of a surprise. Certainly not her fierce loyalty to Tseng. Pointing out to him that he had been stupid to let Tseng go, though, rather _had _been a surprise (if one did not count the quite surprising realization that, while she had a terribly bad timing about it, she did possess the ability to be extremely subtle). It was true, of course. He had been so very stupid indeed. But after all that had happened... it was more than understandable that Tseng had wanted to resign.

Or had he?

Who exactly was guilty of what?

Elena certainly not of being disrespectful. It had taken her excuse and a few minutes for him to figure what on Gaia she had been talking about and he was not even sure whether he interpreted her message correctly. If she was as subtle with Tseng, it was not wonder that it had taken him at least three years to notice anything. It was a wonder he had at all...

But what on Gaia was he going to do? The company, that dullness inside him, his insufficiency, the Head of the Turks and now again those New Geostigma patiences disappearing. All those problems demanded immediate solutions. Solutions which seemed to elude him.

He was not going to think about Tifa now.

It like everything was falling apart around him. At night, it did not let him go to sleep. But now, it was early in the morning and he was going to deal with things.

Even if it was in vain. Even if everything he had tried had failed so far. Even if this was the last solution. Even if it made him a Loser. Whatever the cost.

* * *

Rufus knocked against the door frame before he entered Tseng's hospital room. The Turk was awake but still lying in bed, covered by white linen, pale against the ugly green of the hospital's pyjama. The prosthesis was propped up above the blanket at his side, unmoved and the man's eyes were of that sickly mako-green from too much exposure to healing materia.

He had been so damn reckless, Rufus thought. But everything came at a price and he _had_ paid for his recklessness. Dearly. Even if he did not want to think about those eternal moments in the rain or even remember that he had been so very _happy_ when he had woken back there in Tifa's house, those thoughts were always much closer that they should have been. Painful.

So he smiled at the Turk who looked up when he entered and banished the emotions from his mind.

Tseng answered his smile. He looked so strange and yet so very familiar with that short dark hair. Just like four years ago, only with a few more lines in his face. And that prosthesis.

Rufus moved into the room. Gaia damn his recklessness. "Good morning, Tseng. How are you?"

"Fine. How kind of you to come."

He sneered. "Of course." He closed the door behind him and sat down on a chair, next to the artificial arm. It was truly a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, purely from metal, the light reflecting on the cold steel. It even suited Tseng in its stern and immobile strength. Perhaps it would be a good reminder that while Rufus might not care so very much about what happened to himself if he was too reckless, he did care about his Turks. Or how easily he had almost lost the company. Again. Both.

"How is your arm?"

"They say my skin and my nerves are adapting well to it. But the doctor tells me that we'll have to wait with the adjustments until tomorrow." The same dry matter-of-factly tone that so much suited the arm.

Rufus studied the metal fingers. While most of the rest of the arm was made out of metal plates about thumb-nail big, the fingertips consisted out of the tiniest pieces of metal, smaller than a needle's head, shattering the light dully into every direction. He hesitated, reached out and pressed his index-finger against the tip of one of the metal fingers. At the slightest touch, the needle heads gave way, just a little bit. The metal was cold, lifeless in its touch. There even were artificial fingernails. Different from a human hand, yet not so very different. Not that _that_ made things better.

"They've already connected the nerves. I can feel that," Tseng informed him.

"I'm sorry." Rufus withdrew his hand quickly, far too fascinated with that – thing. He studied Tseng for another moment, the sickly mako-taint in the man's eyes. Time to settle things. "By the way, I think I can't accept your resignation as Head of the Turks, not entirely, anyway."

Tseng stared at him which certainly made the entire choice of words worth his while. Then, the Turk's stare turned into a deep frown. "Haven't you already?"

"I have, but under false assumptions. That renders it invalid." Before Tseng could as much as object to it, Rufus continued. He was in no mood for arguments. "_I_ thought you were resigning because of my inexcusably asinine behaviour back at Fontainebleau Manor. As I do agree that I acted most recklessly, although you told me not to, and thus brought upon us – and especially you – what happened, I felt compelled to agree with your resignation. However, when I told Elena yesterday that you resigned, she told me that I _let_ you. I am not quite sure whether she hinted what I deduced she was hinting at," he allowed himself a smirk thinking of Elena's hinted hints, "so, correct me if I over-interpret the matter, but if you asked me – no, wait, let me finish – if you resigned and _she_ says I _let_ you that means that she thinks I had a choice. Which then again means that you did not resign because I behaved like an idiot but rather because you felt compelled to. That, of course, means that you feel you are to blame for the outcome of the situation which is at least as asinine as my behaviour, and that is why I will not have you resign."

Tseng's frown had deepened even further, even as Rufus spoke, and Rufus knew very well that his Turk was about to contradict him. So, he drew in another breath and tried to care as much as he used to. "I know that both Head of the Turk and Vice President are too much work for one person. As I am going to restructure Shin-Ra anyway, I am going to propose the following: You will nominally remain Head of the Turks, but Reno and Rude will from now on be responsible for the training and recruitment of new Turks. We can't have too many secret missions nowadays anyhow. Secondly, Elena will be responsible for investigations. She has shown quite a bit of talent in that area, and I think it suits her better than field work. Of course, you are a better judge in those matters than I am. All in all, it'll leave you time for Vice President duties." He closed his eyes for a moment. It was not the same. Not as if Tseng was really still Head of the Turks. Just a substitute for what would never come back. But – it would have to do. "Anyway, there was no reason for you to resign. As a Turk, you did exactly what you had to do. You saved my life."

Tseng nodded, slowly, and Rufus was surprised that he seemed to agree that easily. He smiled even slightly. "Just why does everyone think I am blaming myself for what happened? First Elena, now you! I truly am not."

"Everyone? – Elena?" Rufus was even more surprised, because Tseng looked a lot as if whatever Elena had said made him feel embarrassed about whatever he had stated on that occasion. Elena had never appeared to him as someone who would even dare to chew someone else out, especially not Tseng – who, if Rufus was not quite mistaking, she thought of as a god – not to mention successfully. But – people changed and maybe, Elena felt more at home with Tseng than with him, and that hint she had given him was just the tip of an iceberg.

Tseng smiled and the nature of the smile surprised Rufus again. It was kind and caring and he felt a stab of furious jealousy both for not being subject to that smile and for not having reason to produce a similar one about _someone_. "She called me an idiot and a megalomaniac."

Rufus scoffed. "My, she's got you all figured out, hasn't she? Though it does sound like a horrible first date." He hated to say that, but it did also sound as if they were not really getting along well, at least not if one considered that he had not seen them communicating much after the first date. As long as Tseng was not desperately unhappy about that, that was good news for him. For, the less Tseng was likely to get into a relationship with Elena the more it was likely that he would willingly accept his new job without nonsensical qualms about employer-employee relationships.

"It was the second one."

"Ah. So... You don't talk for days after the first, she swears at you during the second... I do hope you'll both ask to be transferred before you start killing each other." He could not have Tseng think that he minded their association; the Turk would draw his conclusions and most likely feel compelled to decide for him which would render Tseng less useful and damage their relationship. Or worse, the Turk would start worrying about him and he was certainly not going to discuss anything with Tseng. Certainly not _her_.

But Tseng frowned. "I don't think that will happen. Do you..."

"I'm joking, Tseng. But I can't say I'm not surprised. I never thought she would ever dare to speak up against you – or me – directly nor that I would ever accuse her of being too subtle. My, doomsday must be almost upon us! - So, will you?"

Tseng gave a curt nod. "Of course I will. And we did doomsday already."

Rufus smirked, all satisfaction. This time, Tseng had not smiled, not even the faintest hint of a smile. But the resolution in the Turk's eyes told him everything he had ever wanted to see from the Turk. Tseng, as if he had not known it, would follow him to the end of the world.

He leaned a little more forward and started telling Tseng about his rather desperate plan to safe the company that might well result in its complete destruction by WRO.

In the end, Tseng came up with a solution that, while it would last for not more than perhaps six months would at least leave him time to pick up some pieces. It was obvious, really, and if he had not been so very tired, it would have most likely occurred to him, too. Thus, instead of uniting all companies under the name of Shin-Ra, they would form another company under the name of one of the sub-companies, and let people wonder who was behind that company while they were gathering power. It would not last and Rufus doubted that it would indeed take Reeve's people six months to figure out what kind of company they were dealing with, but it would buy them time. With the aftermath of the riot, Rufus hoped that Reeve would need a little longer, especially because all documents that proved that the new company belonged to him had been burned or were very safely stored here in Junon.

He did not like the idea of a fake company. It felt like a replacement for something he should not have lost in the first place. But that, certainly, was just another price he paid for his recklessness, maybe even more painful than Tseng's arm. Certainly as helpful and artificial. But also as lifeless? … well, in both cases, it was up to them to fill it with the life it lacked. Perhaps, he would even let that fake company buy up Shin-Ra. As much as he liked Shin-Ra's name, its image was way too negative.

But the most surprising outcome of their discussion was that he actually felt somewhat relieved afterwards. Relieved and motivated. While all those problems had seemed rather unmanageable, talking to Tseng at least left him with a feeling that, perhaps, they were not entirely as unmanageable as he felt.

It was close to noon when he got up from his chair, tired, but for the first time in days moderately hopeful.

"I'll see you tomorrow at supper, then, I suppose?" he said, rising.

Tseng gave a nod. It was perhaps a good idea he was leaving now; Tseng looked rather tired and worn, too, and he would certainly need most of his strength for recovering and for getting used to the prosthesis. Even if they adjusted it only tomorrow, it would still take months until it was truly healed, not to mention the time Tseng would need to learn to handle it. "Or the day after tomorrow at lunch, whatever you prefer. Whatever you feel up to."

Tseng gave a tired smile. "Half a day might matter a lot."

Rufus shrugged. "One would think so." He turned to leave, not wanting to pursue the thoughts that came up at those words again, but in the same moment, a cold iron something closed around his wrist and he almost jumped until he realized that it was Tseng's – new – hand.

"Rufus. Wait. I... listen... What she did was inexcusable, really. It's not been fair to treat you like that."

Tseng's hand was still closing and by now, the grasp was almost hurtful. But the pain was not unwelcome. He scoffed. "As if I never did anything inexcusable. Nor do I tend to be fair."

"But you never claimed to be good."

Rufus looked at Tseng, the worried expression in the Turk's face. What business was it of his, anyway? Why did he care? Could he not leave it alone? Why _talk_? What would that change apart from thinking about it again? The Turk's hand was almost crushing his wrist now as he flicked the hair with his other hand. "Tseng, please, don't be ridiculous. People always want things. For most, it's my money or my power. For her, it was just someone to protect her precious son from murder. Maybe a substitute for her Cloud. Whatever. I would even venture to say that I made a lucky escape – I got cured of New Geostigma, and don't have to put up with either her brats, Reeve's rather tedious company or that mako-mush-brain Cloud. Nor her hypocritical morals." By now, he had to clench his teeth against the pain in his wrist. He swallowed a gasp of pain as the fingers still dug deeper. It was astonishing just how powerful that prosthesis was. "Would you be so kind as to let go of my arm now?"

"Rufus." Tseng pronounced it rather slowly, trying to look him directly in the eye. Making him talk. But what was there to talk about? Things were simple for once and quite unchangeable, so why bother discussing them?

"Tseng, please, let go. You are hurting me."

The Turk paled and in the same moment, the pressure around his wrist relaxed and with an almost noiseless movement, Tseng withdrew the arm. The slight clicking of the metal was rather melodic, Rufus noticed through the throbbing of his wrist and the rush of blood that was shooting back into his hand.

"I'm sorry. It's not been adjusted, yet. - Did I hurt you much?"

"No, don't worry." He turned to the door and refrained from looking at or even massaging his wrist; it would only bother Tseng. "See you tomorrow and – get well." He turned from the room before Tseng could keep him back once more.

* * *

_Very well, things are getting started. Next chapter (for, even if I'm not quick, I am planning ahead): The Price we pay (it is going to be about Reeve, maybe the last chapter about him, don't know yet)_

_As always: I'd be very glad to hear your opinion and/or suggestions for what might happen etc, so: _

_Please review!_


	35. The Price We Pay

_It's been a while again and this chapter has been waiting a while for posting. I actually planned to shorten it a little before I uploaded it, but I have not been so horrible motivated over the last few weeks and I scarcely find time to write._

_So, I thought that rather than making you wait much longer, I might as well bother you with a little longer chapter._

_Please enjoy._

* * *

Chapter 35: Reeve: The Price We Pay

"_As a symbol of sin, hurled from another world, it towers over the eerie rubble of the Fallen City, itself a ruin of Shin-Ra's glory. Behold, everyone, this graveyard of guilt, the feast that quietness and darkness hold over Midgar today. Once called 'Mako City', Shin-Ra's symbol of might and prosperity is nothing more today than a symbol for a man's sins and his punishment. Hybris and Nemesis of not even a dynasty._

"_Here are the ruin of Sector Seven, a mountain of dirt, the last struggle of a tyrant to conquer the masses. It is nothing more a sign of how futile his tyranny was … and of how many victims it cost._

"_But the ruins of Midgar do not only hold sin but also salvation, for below the rubble in what were the former slums, we find a church ..."_

Reeve switched out the TV. Someone had told him that this documentation was worth watching and had given him a copy. Yet, he could not find it was. Of course, what the woman said was true, and very poetic. But she said nothing no one already knew. Just spread unhappy rumours further. He gave a sigh and looked at the files on his table.

Over three weeks since Cloud had returned. Over three weeks since Reeve had hoped that things would turn back to normal.

They had not. Freakish summer weather had overwhelmed Edge like a plague, slowed the building units down, made him worry that the water would not last. The drop he had taken from Cloud's vial still resisted all attempts of analysis. They knew all ingredients, but – mixed together, they just did not work.

Reeve asked himself why on Gaia he struck that bargain with Tifa to give the vial to Rufus.

Oh, he knew why. He had known then that she would make it, and while Rufus would be cured, she would return to Cloud. He had been so angry when Cloud had told him that Rufus had been there at their house. That Tifa had let him stay there. That she had lied to him. So, he had made her promise that, if he gave her the vial, she would return to Cloud. Not to them.

He regretted that promise. It had not been fair. It was not his job to fix everyone's lives, and it had been cruel towards Tifa, but he had thought everything would go back to normal. That Tifa would realise how much she loved Cloud and what a horrible mistake she had made with listening to Rufus. Yet, every time he saw Tifa and Cloud, he could literally feel the estrangement between them. And he missed Tifa's frequent visits.

And then, there was that business with _Sulfur_, of course. _Sulfur Environmental Technolegies_. The company that had sprung up from nowhere. The company that bought up all the environmental companies Rufus could not prove were associated with Shin-Ra. The company that within a week had tripled Shin-Ra's seize and was threatening to come close to WRO. The company about which they did not know more than who owed it – Hendric and Minerva Paul. Of whom no one knew where to find them, registration offices still being down ever since Meteor.

A company so grand and nothing known about them.

Shin-Ra was positively frantic about it. If it had not been mean, Reeve would have laughed at Rufus, gleefully, for tying himself up in his own web. If he had not been uneasy about _Sulfur_, too.

And White Geostigma patients had started disappearing again. Not in a flash like last time. Not in a frenzy. But it had already been four. Maybe five. And Reeve only waited for the day when their bodies were found.

If that had not been enough, there had been what seemed to be an accident in one of Shin-Ra's power plants up in the mountains. But it did not truly look like and accident.

His telephone rang.

He picked it up.

His secretary told him that Tseng of the Turks had arrived.

He asked her to show him in and moments later, the door opened to admit the Turk and Reeve almost sucked in his breath. The Turk – was in his Turk suit, of course. But he also had his hair a lot shorter and he looked _exactly_ like that overzealous Turk Reeve had met so many years ago for the first time. Not a hair out of place and his face all calm, all duty, but the black eyes burning with zeal.

Rufus' loyal watchdog.

Vice President – no, _official_ President of Shin-Ra, Inc. as Rufus still continued faking death. Reeve had never thought that a _Turk_ would one day become head of Shin-Ra, even if only for show.

And now, said Turk approached him surrounded in calmness.

"Good morning, Reeve," he said with a short nod of his head. His left arm, Reeve noticed, was strapped to his body, but it looked exactly like an arm. There was a black glove over the hand, there was nothing that suggested it was a prosthesis.

"Good to see you, Tseng! - How is you arm?"

"Better."

"Please, have a seat!" He pointed at the visitors' chairs in front of his desk. How could an arm that was missing become better?

"Thank you," the Turk said and lowered himself onto one of them. His calm always surprised Reeve. As if he were the eye of a storm. He had never seen the Turk enraged.

"Well, I would never have supposed that a Turk would once become official president of Shin-Ra, Inc. - Congratulations!"

There was a tiny smile on Tseng's face that Reeve could not place. It seemed bemused and Reeve had no idea why. Was the Turk triumphing? Or was he, Reeve, missing something? But different from Rufus, Tseng did not give a smooth reply aimed to leave Reeve at loss but tell him exactly what Rufus wanted him to think. Tseng... seemed to prefer to leave one in darkness. It made Reeve feel uneasy although he had always liked the Turk.

"How is _Rufus_, anyway?" Reeve asked on, tried to sound natural and without triumph as he surrounded the desk. But if he had hoped for surprise – or even a reaction – from Tseng, he had mistaken. Rufus himself would have now started some kind of game. Yet, Tseng just looked at him, coal black eyes that seemed to assess everything. "Busy."

He did not even deny it, then! Reeve could not but smile even if he felt very angry they had lied to him and most of all played with him. "I thought he was dead?"

"He got better."

Reeve blinked at Tseng, trying to find out if the Turk had just joked. He could not read much on the Turk's face and it made him slightly uneasy. "Oh... really?"

"He doesn't have New Geostigma. We thought he did, but a thorough examination proved that wrong. Just a most unfortunate cold. So, there's not much of a need to act as if he were dead anymore. We'd still ask you to keep silent about it for a while, though."

Reeve nodded, feeling suddenly sad. He was not surprised to hear the proof for it that they _had _used that vial. But it reminded him just how much that plan had failed. He did not like to keep silent about Rufus' survival but maybe, for Shin-Ra to survive, that was necessary. Especially now that _Sulfur_ Inc. had appeared. And if he still wanted Rufus to fund WRO, it maybe was not such a good idea to help destroy Shin-Ra.

"Will he come in your stead from now on?" Reeve asked. He did not mind Tseng. Even though Rufus was easier to read... well, maybe not easier to read, but more emotional, he preferred the cool presence of the Turk. After all, he had a certain admiration for the Turk's skills and most of all for his devotion. It had to be true devotion if he was back on his feet already. But Reeve also noticed that Tseng was not wearing anything that suggested that Rufus was listening in on their conversation or even giving Tseng orders.

Tseng gave a half shake. "If you come to Junon, he'll see you. That is, unless you'd rather deal with me?"

Reeve lifted his shoulder. "It might be a good idea to talk to him from time to time."

Tseng nodded. "He agrees."

"Have you heard anything new about _Sulfur_ Inc.?" Reeve started with what was the actual reason for their meeting and kept his eyes closely on Tseng.

There was a flash of uneasiness on the Turk's face, anger maybe even. "Of course we have. They are buying up everything we owned in Edge. And a lot more. - I am here to ask, too, if you were able to secure at least some document from our building?"

Reeve shook his head. "I'm sorry. But when we got there, everything had burned."

"That _is_ a pity. Do you know anything about their aims?"

Reeve shook his head. "They haven't made an appearance, yet. I sent invitations to their company building – it seems to be here in Edge, too, but it's tiny – but so far, no one has responded. - Do you know anything?" That was of course why he had wanted to talk to Shin-Ra. While WRO had a wide network, Shin-Ra still had the better intelligence. Way better with the Turks.

Tseng placed a file on the table. "It is obvious that their leaders are well funded."

"Hendric and Minerva Paul?"

"We believe that those two names are merely a pseudonym. But we can't get our hands on the organizational documents – the office burned during the riot and we suppose that they keep their own locked up somewhere."

Reeve frowned. "We believe so, too. Before you will tell me about your suspicion, let me mention ours first: _I_ think that '_Sulfur_' is awefully close to 'Rufus'. At least, if read backwards..."

"It says 'Ruflus'."

Reeve gave a nod and tried to look threatening.

Tseng either did not notice the look or chose not to. "May I point out to you that Rufus got the best education Gaia had to offer? He does know how to spell his name."

Was there a hint of protectiveness in Tseng's voice or was it void as usual? At least, his eyes seemed a little more alive. "Maybe the L is for decoy?" Reeve suggested. "Or he chose it to commemorate his dead brother?"

Tseng raised an eyebrow. "I'm not even sure he even bothers to remember Lazard's name. The only thing Rufus sees in Lazard is the unfortunate result of some indiscretion on his father's side. Fortunately a dead one."

And what did you see in him? Reeve asked himself as Tseng's reply sent a cold shiver down his spine. Tseng had worked with Lazard, he had known the man. But quite a few people Tseng had worked with were dead. Reeve asked himself if it bothered the Turk.

"Maybe they wanted the analogy. Maybe, they aren't even aware of it. I would think that more likely. After all, they are putting the number 32.065 in the upper corner of their logo. That rather points towards the element."

"Yes, but why would anyone choose an element for a company's name? Why sulphur?"

Tseng shrugged. "_S _is a lucky letter in Wutai. It's the other half of eternity. It could also be an abbreviation. Besides, sulphur is not an element without merits. It is important in the human body, omnipresent and not that unimportant in chemical industry."

Reeve frowned. "It's not the most positively connoted element."

"Neither would be Phosphor. Although certainly more suited for an electric power company. But it's a little hard to tell what it signifies if one doesn't even know the creators."

Reeve gave a sigh and nodded. "True." Then, he nodded at the file that Tseng was carrying. "But you have an idea, don't you?"

"Of course we do." There was almost the hint of a smile in the Turk's face. For, yes, of course they did. They were the Turks. They would not have been as efficient if they had not been able to figure things out. It was – degrading – to still be relying on Shin-Ra's secret service to find out things like this.

Tseng slid the file over the table. It looked old, it looked well used and it looked top secret. "Rufus allowed me to borrow it to you for a few days."

"How kind." But he studied Tseng carefully. "What does he expect in exchange?" Rufus never did things for free. There was always a catch.

"We would like to know what you know about the disappearing of New Geostigma patients. Not the ones before the riot. We know what happened to them. We would also like to know if you happen to know something about that accident that occurred a few days ago in one of our power plants."

Reeve studied the file. It made sense to collaborate with Shin-Ra again. It had been useful the last time … maybe it would be this time, too. And he needed this file. Even if it was a wrong guess, he needed to know which direction the Turks were guessing in. It might tell him whether he should be careful about this one... whether Shin-Ra was not, maybe, involved, despite all Tseng said. "We don't have much on the accident, but I'll sent you the file. Concerning the White Geostigma patients – there haven't been any bodies, yet. I've ordered to put the death sentence onto halt for now... I mean, we will wait to execute Fontainebleau and Scipione. They haven't had contact to anyone outside the prison, so they can't be responsible for the current murders. But I think they might know something."

"Have you questioned them already?"

_You know that we ha__ve as well as we know that you have_. "Yes. I'll sent you a copy of the protocol... if you'll sent me one of yours. But they claim they know nothing."

Tseng nodded. "Of course."

"I already have everyone watched who might have associated with them."

"That makes sense. I'll sent you our Turk-files on them. Maybe, they will be helpful."

Reeve asked himself why Tseng volunteered them. Maybe, they had not been helpful to the Turks?

"Rufus also suggests that we should, for now, just watch _Sulfur_ Inc.. They'll show themselves in good time."

Reeve nodded. "That sounds reasonable. If you don't mind to wait, I can give you the files right away. I think I can also let you talk to Christian. He deals with the accident in the mountains."

"That would be very kind," Tseng replied and rose. Reeve noticed that, while his movement was smooth, he seemed a little slower on the left side. The prosthesis had to be very heavy indeed.

"Thank you for coming."

"Of course."

Reeve pointed his hand at the Turk whose handshake was firm, dry and short, strangely unremarkable. "Get well soon."

The Turk inclined his head a little. "Thank you." The heavy doors closed behind him and with it, Reeve felt himself respire, staring after the dark Turk. Shin-Ra, they sometimes felt like evil spirits, hurled from another world. Rufus did, and Tseng did even more so.

He closed his eyes, opened them after another deep breath and there, as if dropped by dark imaginings, lay the file on the dark mahogany. It had was of an ugly, old yellow, the edges were well used, dented in and the strap around it worn. It was thick and it lay there on the table promising nothing but trouble. The Turk-seal on it was faded, not so the top-secret mark. Or at least, the top-secret mark was younger. It had been sealed, opened only recently. It stared back at him sinisterly.

Reeve looked at it without touching it. Had it been smart to take it? It made him obliged to Shin-Ra. On the other hand – maybe, Shin-Ra _was_ trying to manipulate him and this new company had everything to do with Shin-Ra. Then again, did not Rufus have enough trouble already? He surely did not need to create another fake company to make WRO look the other way... they had to be struggling for survival anyway.

And it would be very stupid indeed to choose a name that was so close to 'Rufus'.

Reeve surrounded the desk, hesitated yet another moment before he opened the file. Behind him, outside the window, the desert was buzzing with the heat, the horizon swimming into the sky.

The air conditioner kept the temperature inside his office level.

He opened the file.

The first sheet was a curriculum vitae. _Tamara Young_, said the headline. It had been typed in a Turk's office.

It was the photo of a young officer that caught Reeve's attention as he was about to flip through the worn and yellowed paper. He darkly remembered the face... and the name, come to think of it. There had been this girl, a few classes above him when he was still at university. She had been tutor in one or two of his seminars on business. He darkly remembered her wearing a crisp uniform. People had talked about her; Her parents had been very wealthy and she had always had those parties were everyone of consequence had been invited to. He, never. She had been beautiful and completely out of his league like many another girl. He hadn't thought about her in years like all the others who had been of consequence then, forgotten for years now, most of them dead.

An apprehensive cold was gripping his stomach as he turned the page. He had known this file would be trouble.

There was another photo of her, taken a few years later, bad quality. It must have been part of a larger photo, and all he could make out was what seemed to be a woman wearing a General's uniform.

He turned to the vita, suddenly curious about that woman he had never exchanged more than three words with. That part of the past he was trying to forget about.

Tamara Young had been made Lieutenant General during the war in Wutai and had been one of those put in charge of the genocide. However, it seems that at one point of her career before that, she came into contact with... other ideas. The essay on the next side estimated that contact to have taken place about four years before the Wutai campaign had started. It seemed she had made friends with environmentalists, people opposed to war and most of all to Shin-Ra. Luckily for her not the explosive-handling type. From what Reeve could extract from the essay about them – yet another page – their aim had been to infiltrate the upper circles of Shin-Ra, Inc. and change the world to the better. They had been obviously watched closely by the Turks.

Reeve felt his fingers being strangely sweaty as he drew a deep breath. Nothing remarkable so far. Nothing that would have made her top-secret. He turned back to the front page where the girl on the photo smiled at him and the General on the other still looked grim.

During the campaign in Wutai, the text went on, some years into the war, Tamara had gone AWOL with at an entire regiment.

Reeve wasn't sure he remembered something about that particular incident. There had been so many incidents during the war in Wutai that it was hard to remember than all. Besides, he had been very much involved with finding his place in Shin-Ra at that point of time. The date suggested that it had been about twelve years after the inauguration of Shinra Tower, four years before Rufus had tried to have his father killed. Had he been Vice President at that time already? Two years before he, Reeve, had realised what was truly going on inside Shin-Ra.

He turned back to the text.

There was no reason given why she had gone AWOL, but it had gone to the dogs. It seemed most of the soldiers in her regiment had been killed, although she had managed to escape with a guy – Hendric Powell...Reeve hesitated and looked at the _Sulfur_ file. The second owner of _Sulfur_ was called Hendric Paul. Coincident? Not if the Turks handed him this file.

However, the file went on, said Powell had been dealt with by the Turks. Almost five years later.

Reeve tried to remember what had happened in that year. The war in Wutai had been over. Rufus had been Vice President, judging by the date, he must have been imprisoned in Junon for about over a year already. Reeve himself had been very, very careful with voicing critique. It had been about three and a half years before Meteor, and in Wutai, Hendric Powell had been found by the Turks. The file did not state what had happened to him, but Reeve was quite sure that it had ended six feet deep. The short report kind of suggested it. Exactly three years, too, before most of the Turks had been killed.

It seemed, however, that the Turks had been unable to retrieve the war chest of the regiment (pay for about half a year for the entire regiment down to the last infantryman), and that Tamara Young had never been found.

Reeve massaged the bridge of his nose. He did not like being confronted with Shin-Ra's more dirty past and this looked as dirty as it got.

He did not like to be confronted with his own past, especially how long it had taken him to realise just how evil Shin-Ra had truly been. Given, he had been raised while Shin-Ra had come to power. He had been in his teens when the Tower and Midgar had been built, when Mako was introduced and when everyone had be euphoric about Shin-Ra. But if he had listened for even one moment to his mother – if he had not been so very fixed on becoming an engineer, on realising his dreams and innovations – he might have realised much early. Maybe he had realised earlier, but it had only been thirteen years after the Tower had been constructed, at the height of the genocide in Wutai, that he had admitted to himself that he was working for murderers. That he had started criticising them... it had taken him still another six years before he had fully turned against Shin-Ra, thanks to Cait Sith. He was well aware that this was nothing to be proud of.

Reeve closed the file, felt himself slightly shivering. Maybe, the Turks' guess was not half bad. Tamara Young had the education to build up a company. While Reeve was not sure which reasons she had, she definitely had the ideological background for an environmental company... it even made much sense that she was buying up Shin-Ra property.

He would have his own people look into it. He did not like that she should have come back from Wutai out of nowhere... and that it made so much sense. He knew that it made sense to come back now.

Gaia, he still remembered the girl in class. Her long, dark hair, those shining eyes, the ever perfect uniform, the sun in her hair and her zeal!

He remembered a lot of people with that zeal, a lot of summer afternoons when they had sat together in the arcades of the university – he with his friends and their new robots – while the sun had been warm, when the future had still been so bright and mako the solution to every problem. He even remembered the smells, how they had met to roam through Midgar's streets and stare at the reactors. When President Shin-Ra had still been a hero. When Rufus had been a perfect little prince, paraded and envied on every possible occasion. When the civil war in Wutai had not been more than a mere problem, soon to be fixed.

Happy days.

He did not even know if any of his friends from back then had survived Meteor.

Tifa looked worried when she entered the office. Worried and tired and Reeve felt his heart sinking. When he had made her promise to return to Cloud, he had hoped that, within a few days, she would have found her equilibrium again. That Cloud would cheer her up and that she would be happy once again. But that spark in her eyes was still missing.

"It's nice of you to come," Reeve said and smiled at her. Beautiful Tifa!

Tifa replied his smile. "Well, I thought if Denzel's here for check up, I could come and see you, too... it's been more than two weeks and... well, I guess I wanted to say I was sorry." She looked at him.

Reeve blinked, surprised. "Sorry? For what?"

She gave a sigh. "I lied, of course. About Rufus, I mean. That I knew where he was. Cloud told you, didn't he? Well, he obviously did, you wouldn't have given them the vial otherwise..."

"Oh," Reeve made, surprised. He had not supposed she would excuse, but – maybe it was a sign how much she valued his friendship. She had taken her time with excusing, but at least, she did. So, she did at least care a little about him. "Well... they are Shin-Ra... and I don't think he gave you much of a choice, did he?"

Tifa shrugged, looking down. "You know there's always a choice."

Reeve did not quite understand if she was referring to anything but the situation.

"It wasn't right and I guess I knew at that time, but... well... I'm sorry, Reeve. You always try to help and it's just not fair to treat you like this."

Reeve smiled at her, felt his heart warming once again. "Thank you."

Tifa looked at him, surprised, maybe, by his answer.

"Is... is Cloud settling in, at least?" he asked, sat down on his chair. The sun was shining brightly into the room, drawing patterns onto the floor, the dust dancing in the light, Tifa's hair shimmered brown in such intense sunlight. "Can I offer you something to drink, perhaps? It has to be hellishly hot outside!"

"It is... I can't remember it has ever been so hot here around this time of the year... water would be nice, I suppose."

Reeve got up again and went to the cabinet where he kept the drinks. Cool, of course. He remembered how Tseng had frowned at the ice in his water. Tifa would not, he knew. The air that came in through the air-conditioner smelled of dust and as he walked by, he could see Edge cooking below his feet, the building sides sparkling in the sunlight, the busy people moving through the streets, the working men who took care of the leftovers from the riot. He loved Edge, despite everything.

"Here you go." He handed the cold glass to Tifa who took it and sipped at it, frowning a little.

"No, I think you can't say that he's settling in... nor that everything's alright." She gave a sigh, smiled at him. "I know I've complained all these months that I want him back, but... things have changed. He has changed, he is broodier than before and... I think I have changed, too. You know, I think the problem is he just can't accept that things changed here. He's gone for... more than half a year and just expects everything to be like it was before... you see?"

Reeve gave a non-committal nod. He felt sorry for her. And for Cloud. He could very much imagine how surprised Cloud must have been, returning home and finding Rufus of all people in front of their doorstep.

Tifa took another sip from her water. She had not taken a seat but walked up and down. "I mean, I know I'm not innocent, either. I... well, I started dealing with Shin-Ra. But I believed Cloud was _dead_. And suddenly, out of the blue, he's back and... wants me to worship him for bringing that stupid medicine for Denzel! - I'm not saying that I'm not thankful for that, I'm sure he saved Denzel's life, but... where was he when Denzel got shot? It was not him who saved his life, then. For Gaia's sake, Reeve! It's been over _half a year_ without any kind of news!" She gave a sigh. "The worst thing is that... I mean, I feel guilty about the entire thing."

"What entire thing?" Reeve asked.

"Rufus... Shin-Ra, Cloud. I mean, I thought Cloud was dead. I would not – I would not have gotten that deeply involved with Shin-Ra if I had known Cloud was still alive. Or cared enough to come back one day. I really didn't know. Still, I feel guilty about what I did and... I feel also guilty about Rufus. I treated him really, really badly. I know you don't like him, but... I think he really cared and nobody deserves to be treated like that..."

"He'll get over it. Believe me, he treated people worse." Tried to have them executed, for example. How could Tifa even feel sorry? Did she not know that Rufus had been most likely playing one of his games with her?

"Well, that does not make it any better how I treated him, does it? It's like... I don't know, I behaved like a bitch, although at that moment, it seemed sensible to behave that way and... He saved Denzel, Reeve. Picked him up and... he did not even tried to have him imprisoned when Denzel tried to kill him!"

Reeve sat down on the table next to her, studied her. He pressed the guilt away again that rose when Tifa mentioned the affair in which Denzel had nearly been killed and that it had been, in the end, his fault because he had let the boy get away. "Everything comes at a price, Tifa. For everyone." Reeve gave a sigh, thinking about her as well as himself and most of all about Cloud who had been so very stupid not to call back and to risk the most precious thing he had been graced with. Whatever had happened, Reeve was still worried about her. "Well, perhaps not for Rufus," he added as an afterthought, not even aware that he said it out loud. It had been an idea that had been on his mind for quite a while.

Tifa spun around, and Reeve was angry with himself that he had even mentioned him. "What do you mean by that?"

Reeve shrugged. He might as well tell her. Even if it was silly. But he did worry about her. And he worried about Cloud. "Haven't you watched him? People around him get _hurt_. But never he himself. Not really, anyway. He tried to kill his father seven years ago. Nothing happened to him, but – well, most of the Turks were killed in the aftermath of that matter. The people he engaged for that matter, too. I'm quite certain his father had Reno drop the plate because Reno was one of Rufus'... associates. Old president Shinra got killed shortly after they met again. Meteor happened because of his company, people died, suffered, Rufus just walks away without a scratch. Geostigma happened, he contrived it, thousands died, even on the last day, and he is healed in the last minute. And now this affair. He trusted the nobility to be too naïve and it wasn't him who paid. Tseng paid. He lost his arm. You paid. Rufus only got healed again.

"He barged into your life and upset the balance between you and Cloud, just like that. And yet, it is you who pays. And Cloud.

"People who meet him get hurt. His mother, his father, quite a few of his teachers, his associates when he tried to kill his father, the Turks who cared for him while his father had him imprisoned, Reno, his employees, Elena and Tseng got abducted and tortured by Kadaj when _he_ had Jenova's head, now again Tseng. Your children, you.

Never him. Not one of them close to him ever died, whatever happened, nothing ever touched _him_. And I'm not counting his parents as closed to him. His father certainly not. His mother – well, for all I know he had nannies.

"I don't know why, but … people around him get hurt a lot."

Tifa starred at him and he had no clue what she was thinking. It was, he had to admit, rather silly to say things like that out loud, but... it _were_ an awful lot of coincidences. He was sure Rufus himself was not causing them willingly – even he was not manipulative or ruthless enough for that. Reeve had thought about it from time to time ever since the Kadaj incident, ever since Shin-Ra had gotten up again. He should have added Deep Ground, too, maybe. Perhaps it was one of lifestream's odd jokes. Let the son's surrounding pay for the sins of his father. Taint everything black that he touched. But it did seem true; people who came into contact with Rufus quickly ran out of luck, one way or the other. Most times for the worst.

"That's horrible!", Tifa gasped.

"I'm sorry," Reeve said. "But I thought it might be a good thing to tell you."

"The poor man!"

Reeve blinked at her. "I don't think he cares." He knew he had no business of saying that. But he did not want her get hurt once again. He wanted her to be with Cloud, he wanted her to be happy again. That was at least much better than being associated with Rufus and his ill-fated company.

Tifa opened her mouth but closed it again in the same moment. "I'll... I'll have to think about it."

Reeve nodded. "If Cloud comes here, I'll talk to him... I know that you thought him dead. I did, too. So, um, if that helps, I don't think what happened was your fault... I'll tell him that he should really have called."

Tifa smiled at him but much to Reeve's misery it was a smile as if she felt it was too late for that. "That's very kind of you, Reeve, but... please, don't. He'll only think I made you say so and that'll get him angry at you. I don't want him to be angry at you, too."

"Don't worry about me, Tifa. I'll just be happy if everything's back to normal."

Tifa smiled back at him, gave a sigh. "Yes. So will I... so will I." She looked so terribly hopeless.

"Come on, you do still love him, don't you?"

Tifa nodded. "Yes, I'm sure I do."

Reeve smiled. "See, no worry in the world, then."

Tifa laughed. "Right... no worry in the world... which reminds me... when I brought Denzel down for examinations, one of the doctors mentioned that... that some of your wards have disappeared... again..." The anxiousness was all over her face again.

Reeve nodded. "Yes, that's true. But – I talked to the doctors. I don't think it's the same as during the murders. I mean, we haven't found any bodies, and there's no way anyone is able to excess the water from the church. I have it monitored all around the clock. The doctors tell me those two who disappeared, they were also very fed up with being here, being examined and not cured." That was all true, but nonetheless, he was definitely bothered. He hoped it did not show in his voice.

Tifa smiled. "Well, I'm glad the spots are slowly disappearing on Denzel's skin but... I … well, if there's anything close to … to those murders again, I would like to help, 'cause... if it hadn't been for Cloud it would be still Denzel, you know?"

Reeve nodded. "Of course. But I don't think there's anything to be worried about." At least not yet. He was not about to tell her about the cooperation with Shin-Ra, though. That sounded far too much like worrying.

Tifa nodded, turned her thumbs which was a strange sight. "Actually, I'm also here because I _would_ like to ask you if – if there's something else I could help you with. You know, you've been so kind and you always listen to me and give good advices. I'd like to help your company with, well, my skills."

Reeve looked at her, surprised. This came – suddenly. He had not expected anything like it. "I'll think about it. Maybe, there's something. I'll give it a thought."

Tifa nodded shortly. "Well, thanks for your time. Thanks for listening and... well... I'm glad you did listen."

Reeve smiled back. "Of course. Always."

Tifa shook her head with a sad smile. "You're really too kind for this world, Reeve." With that, the door closed behind her and left Reeve in deep thought.

Too kind for this world – was he truly? Or was he just a bastard to talk Tifa out of Rufus because if he could not have her, Cloud was still the best way out, he being just mostly gone. He just had her because he needed a home to be cosy at from time to time. He did not love her, Reeve was quite certain. He was not sure Cloud knew, but he himself was sure in that observation. Cloud had just given in to her.

And he, Reeve? He was tired. He was tired of all the lies, all the hope and all the disappointment. It was time to stop pinning after her like a school boy. The door had closed behind her and he knew it was just stupid to even think of her. He would risk their friendship with it in the end..., and he was just tired. Maybe, … well, it was time. High time.

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_Uh, yes. I hope you liked it._

_Encouragements, ideas, suggestions welcome._

_Please review._


	36. Spring Fire

_I'm afraid I had to hurry this chapter a little, because a most shocking news reached my ear: I'm going to spent Christmas and New Year at home and **there will be no internet**. _

_I still hope you will enjoy!_

_I'll be adding the date in future. I'm not sure whether it will be important for the plot, yet, but I figured it might help to keep a little track of the story and the different perspectives.  
_

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Chapter 36: Tseng: Spring Fire

_Saturday, 12. April_

The sun was shining over Junon, the sky was of a warm blue, only decorated with a few fluffy clouds, and along with the beautiful weather came an even more unusual warmth. The wind was coming fiercely from the open sea but even it was incapable of dispersing the warmth that was lingering in every sheltered street. One of the windows to the common room was open and the fresh wind – for once not stinking of the vile brew that sloshed against Junon's shores – gently tousled Tseng's hair. While he hated his hair being tousled, he quite enjoyed the smell of the fresh sea breeze. Here, too, the breeze was just a moderate whisper, just enough to blow some loose strands into his eyes and he savoured the the distant smell of spring on the breeze. Or the light green in which the trees were blooming up wherever one happened to find one. Not that there were many in Junon.

The sea was sparkling in the sun, and way below, the harbour was busy with ships arriving and leaving. In the distance, Tseng could make out the passenger ship that had left for Costa del Sol over half an hour ago and another ship that was not yet hull up at the horizon. It was too windy and too far away to hear anything of the busy buzz of activity from the harbour, of the works at the new Oil plant where the oil was stored that was brought in by huge oil tankers from the oil platforms that were shooting up down the coast. He asked himself whether it had been a good idea to invest even what little they had into oil industry. Sure, everyone was running for oil now, but he had read in older books that there had been some trouble with oil, too. The sun was warm on his face, shining into the room and it felt good to have a little time a leisure. He had just come from rehab and the muscles in his upper body felt still strained. While they had tried to make his prosthesis as natural as possible, it was still a little heavier than a normal arm and his body had to adjust to it. He felt his hair growing hot with the warm sun on it, how it made him drowsy. It was time for lunch and he could smell fragments of the inviting scent from the canteen on the velvety breeze.

He was not yet prepared to return to work. Given, there was a lot to do, but experience had taught him that mostly, things got done quicker and more efficiently if you allowed yourself to rest.

The door to the common room opened. Tseng did not even need to turn his head to know that it was Rufus. He was not sure how he knew that it was him, but he supposed the door had opened too quietly for Reno, too loud for Rude and much too bossy for Elena.

Squinting his eyes against the light, he asked himself how a door could even open bossily.

He heard the noise of pots being moved behind him, a kettle being raised, the rushing noise as the tube was turned on and how it turned a little hollow when the water splashed into the kettle.

"Will you join me for a mug?"

Tseng turned around and blinked several times to get used to the light inside. The room was almost gloomy compared to the bright light reflecting on the sea. "Please."

Rufus put the electric kettle back into the socket and turned it on.

"Do you have no plans for lunch?" He filled tea into the pot, his back to Tseng.

Tseng felt the warm sun on the back of his dark Turk-suit and smiled. "What have you ordered?" If Rufus phrased the question like that, it was most likely that it was no question at all but rather a presumption.

"Sandwiches. They fit the weather nicely."

"Indeed they do," Tseng agreed. The sun was very nice indeed and he hoped very much that the weather would hold. That were would be a few nice days on which – he realized he had been thinking of Elena, "maybe the summer will be nice, too... Edge is baking already."

Rufus nodded and tested the water's temperature with a thermometer. Tseng suppressed a sigh. Whoever had told Rufus that tea water had to have a certain temperature before the tea could be brewed had a lot to answer for. He had tried to explain to his friend on multiple occasions that the temperature in itself did not signify much but rather how hot the water still _felt_. If it felt like 60°C, one brewed the tea. If it did not yet, one did not, not matter what the true temperature was. Rufus had always begged to disagree.

This time, he seemed to be at least satisfied with the temperature, poured the water into the pot and turned around again.

"Has Reeve reported anything on the New Geostigma... I'm sorry, I am talking about work again – I do hope you'll be able to swim again by summer."

Tseng smiled a little, enjoyed the warmth in his back, the smell of food that was still drifting past. "I'm not sure whether I'm fond enough of swimming to want that." He had not swum for pleasure in... years, actually. "And no, Reeve doesn't have any new information regarding the patients. Elena has, though."

Rufus poured the tea into the sink and Tseng watched the vapour moistening the old tiles on the wall. _The first brew for your enemies, the second one for your friends and the last for yourself. _He was certain they would settle with the second one. Rufus was not a patient man. "Does she, now?"

Tseng was not quite sure why Rufus should feel bemused about his reply. "Reeve seems more interested in gathering information about _Sulfur_ Inc."

"Hm," Rufus made. He had picked up the kettle again and filled it with fresh water. They had had quite a long discussion on whether it was a good idea to call the company 'Sulfur'. Tseng still felt it was way too close to 'Rufus' and his first meeting with Reeve after the company's appearance had seemed to prove him right. However, Tseng supposed that it did not matter. Reeve would find out one way or the other and it was just like Rufus to rub it into the man's face like that. For the fun and the thrill of it, Tseng supposed. How quickly would Reeve realise they were behind all this once he had worked out that the company was manned with long-thought-dead Turks?… Would the penny drop the moment he found out that Veld one of those in charge? It had been a hell of a trouble to convince Veld to help them with _Sulfur, _for Veld still resented Rufus. Rufus still mistrusted Veld, but by now, _Sulfur_ was teeming with Turks and their strange efficiency. It was, most likely, the first company in history that was made up from entirely from bodyguards.

"I think he's currently setting people onto investigating Tamara Young." Tseng added, smiling at his thoughts.

Rufus smirked, pleased, as it seemed, and yet, so close up, his cheerfulness looked fake. He seemed worn, the skin paler than usual and his eyes... tired. Mirthless. Dull. They might be sparkling with slyness just now, but Tseng knew the minute he would turn from this room again and quit the conversation, they would be back to dullness.

"The more truth it contains, the better the lie," Rufus commented.

There was a knock on the door and being called in, a younger woman entered who brought several good looking sandwiches. She was one of the kitchen staff, always wearing high collars and rather shy. She was one of those of whom Tseng presumed that she had been afflicted with New Geostigma, though just the white spots as it seemed. He stepped away from the window, missing the warm sun in his back already, and took the tray from the woman, just as she announced that she was bringing the lunch, as ordered, Sir.

He thanked her and placed the tray onto the table. Then, he waited until the door closed behind her. He could hear the water heating up again. The sun was not quite reaching more than the edge of the table, but out in the harbour, people were still scuttling busily along. An oil tanker had been met by a pilot and even at this distance, Tseng could make out Shin-Ra's emblem on the bridge. Or at least the diamond shaped red spot. The passenger's ship was hull down now and somehow, Tseng wished that he could be aboard that ship, too, with Elena, maybe with Rufus, just gone from trouble for a moment, off for vacation in Costa del Sol. As if trouble and sorrow could be turned off like a radio. They were all wearing thin these days. Maybe it was not surprising. They had worked more than three years non-stop, and now, in one night, their efforts had almost been destroyed. Maybe, they were all ready for vacation. He certainly felt like it.

"Our plant in the mountains might be functioning again by mid-August," Rufus observed. He had moved over to the window and put his hand up as if to close it. With a flinch, Tseng noticed the green and yellow bruise on Rufus' right hand. It had been almost two weeks now since he had seized Rufus' hand to stop him from leaving the hospital room... since his maladjusted prosthesis had almost crushed the bones in Rufus' hand. The hand had been black, blue and green for days, but with the fainting bruise, the white blotch also seemed to have disappeared which was rather a relief.

"It's really a pity the explosion hit the turbine... spare parts are hard to come by nowadays..." Rufus was staring out the window at the teeming town. The tanker had almost reached the harbour now, another ship was heading for the horizon. "They tell me that most likely, something blocked it and thus caused the kettle to overheat."

Tseng frowned. He had gotten out an analyses materia. While poisoning had come rather out of fashion with the invention of magical cures against any possible poison, there were some people who could not stop trying, and Tseng preferred to know before he bit into something particularly nasty. There had already been several attempts. "I'm not sure it was truly just an accident."

Rufus turned around from the window again, raising one eyebrow and looking tired. "Not? Are we still significant enough to be blown up?"

"Let's just say I find it strange that the part of the plant that blows up is the only part that is truly hard to come by. I don't like coincidences. Especially when the turbine was moved by water." WRO seemed to be suspicious, too.

Rufus walked back to the counter and tested the tea's temperature. "Now, Tseng, while I am aware of the rumours, let's stay rational for a moment: Who on Gaia would bother to attack us nowadays? We are insignificant."

Tseng did not like the resignation that was in Rufus' voice, the weariness. It hurt. Rufus had always worked so hard for Shin-Ra and yet, he was scorning his own efforts just like that. As if he had done nothing. As if they had done nothing. "Maybe people want to keep it that way?" The materia told him that their lunch was not contaminated by anything immediately lethal to the human body. Being however a rather expensive materia, it had quite a deal to say on the long-term side effects on mayonnaise and other ingredients that usually made sandwiches a more tasty affair.

Rufus smirked. "Now, who's going to poison us today?"

Tseng looked a him, darkly. "I just don't like coincidences, Rufus."

Rufus gave a sigh. "I don't either. I'll have someone look into it. Or you can as a matter of facts. I only find it highly unlikely that we should be targeted by anyone. It's just an explosion in a power plant. Things like that happen and with our run of luck so far – why, I'm surprised it did not blow the entire dam away."

Tseng stored the materia back in his jacket. Rufus was perhaps right. He had seen the reports. A generator had blown up. No obvious signs of manipulation, no terrorists reported, no obnoxious messages left... they were not much of a target anymore these days. _Sulfur_ would be way more of a target. Still, they were feeling the loss of that one power plant already.

"Elena had the patients questioned," Tseng changed the topic and sat down in the little sunny corner of the table, pulling his sandwiches to him and out of the sun. The windows tainted the sky even bluer, the water even darker, the day outside much more intense. "She says that while they did not know _where_ the other patients disappeared to, they did not seem worried about it."

Rufus poured the water into the tea-pot. "Could they be leaving by their own will? We've been nursing them along for months now without getting any closer. If it were I, I would have gotten bored by now and would have gone looking for my own solution."

Tseng shrugged. "Elena said she'll hand in a full report once she found out more."

Rufus nodded and put a candle into the teapot warmer onto the table. Tseng had half closed his eyes against the light, head tilted towards the windows so he could savour the beautiful day and continue to watch the busy buzzing in the town. Rufus lit a match and held it against the wick, waiting for it to catch fire. The breeze that was almost blowing the light out again was soft and warm.

In the same moment, the oil tanker that had just reached the pier blew up.

At first, it was a tiny flash that caught Tseng's attention, a flash at the side of the ship. Then, even before he could decide whether that flash was worth to strain his eyes any further and identify it, the tanker was lifted up in its middle, several meters above the surface, before its belly burst in a white rage of fireball that roared up, turning fiercely red and black around its edges before it ruptured into a carpet of furious fire. The force of the explosion and the resulting firewall blew down everything standing in the harbour, snapped tower cranes like toothpicks and blowing containers around like building bricks, before moments after, the fire wall swept over the harbour and the rain of burning oil and debris started hammering down on what was left of the port.

Simultaneously, roar of the explosion reached them. Tseng was up in the same moment, darting over to pull Rufus to the ground, the thundering so loud that Tseng felt as if his eardrums would blast, and then, the blast wave hit the building. Tseng slammed into Rufus' shoulder who, perhaps from many years of death threatening situations, had deduced from the look of Tseng's face and the roar that throwing oneself to the floor was perhaps the most adequate reaction. The windows clattered and jangled in their frames, Tseng felt a taint of heat over them as they hit the floor, and in the same moment, the room was filled with the smell of soot, fire, burning oil and melted metal.

The roar left a deafening silence, Tseng found himself half on top Rufus, his metal arm firmly dug into the man's breast-cage, Rufus half on his side, moving up again, the blinds still rattling against the windows.

They were on their feet in the same moment, both of them with their weapons in hand.

The harbour was burning. What was left of the disrupted halves of the tanker was slowly sinking in the roaring fire around it. Most of the other ships had been smashed against the pier and everything was on fire. Burning oil was pooling both on the water and on the waterfront, buildings were aflame, vehicles, everything. Huge pieces of debris were still raining down in the near surrounding, crashing into buildings or into the sea. Several ships that had approached the harbour had capsized, their hulls burning from the oil and a think column of dark smoke was rising from all the fires, dark black, flared with sparks of red and white, so thick that it was almost impossible to see anything. The stench and the exhaustion fumes were choking Tseng's breath.

Somewhere, the first sirens started to howl, low through the havoc downtown. The fire was spreading quickly.

"Fly in medical teams from whatever can come here till dawn. Get me helicopters to transport out everyone who possibly can be moved. Set up sick bays," Rufus' voice was dry in Tseng's ear and as he looked, his boss' expression fierce but perfectly calm, even if the eyes were on fire.

"Yes, Sir," he turned. There was not a moment to be lost. "What will you be doing, Shachou?"

"I'll go downtown."

Tseng stopped, half out of the door. "That is crazy."

Rufus smirked, face dark, he was getting out his mobile. "People will see me and they'll know who helped them. I need to be there to coordinate things. Organize the fire fighting brigades." In the suddenly dark day, his smirk was dancing with the fire. "I guess I'll release our materia resources to treat the wounded. Make sure you make a show of it."

Tseng gave a short nod. That was crazy indeed. The town had just blown up and Rufus was already thinking about exploiting the situation. "Take Reno and Rude with you. And Elena."

Rufus gave a nod and Tseng turned, just as he heard Rufus talking into the phone. "Get me every fire fighting plane and helicopter in the entire area. No matter the cost."

Tseng already heard Rufus punching in the next number as he opened the door. The room was dark with the smoke that was clouding the day, sparking red and yellow with the enormous fire, the colours dancing over the white interior of the kitchen and Rufus' white clothes. They had not even yet closed the window.

The last thing Tseng noticed before he closed the door to the so surprisingly immaculate room was their untouched meal and that the candle below the teapot was not burning anymore.

The pain in his shoulder was agonizing. The air in his throat was scorching his lungs. The arm in its socket was hurting as if the heavy metal not only pulled him down, seemed to rip away from the flesh, but if it, in the same moment, tore the arm from the socket. He had exercised it way too long and the metal was hot with the burning air.

Tseng was on his way out of the burning kettle, exhausted, lungs scorched. He had not, not even in his days in Wutai, seen as many that badly injured people. It had been a long time since he had seen so many people dying from injuries, so many for whom life would not ever be good again, so much death and so much suffering.

* * *

He was heading for the headquarters. They needed new narcotics, they needed new bandages, everything. Against the dark, reddened sky, the fire-headquarters was rising. It was a warehouse whose roof had mostly blown off during the explosion and it was now stuffed with communicational equipment. As electricity was still down in this part of town, gas lamps were hanging from posts, shedding their pale light. Above the ruin, the shadows of lowly flying planes were roaring over them, sprinkling water that almost hissed away in the dry air. The tops of the ruin where illuminated in the pulsing red of the fire and the building was teeming with people. Their voices were joined by the screams from those warehouses close by they had turned into sick bays. People were hastening around with messages, somewhere handing out dearly needed water and food, firemen where leaning exhausted to the walls outside, next to medics who were taking an how ever short pause from the operations. Sitting on boxing or sometimes only standing, Tseng saw people weeping in despair or just in exhaustion. Possibly both. The air was still close to unbreathable, the stench almost unbearable and everything so hot.

It was so much like the Wutain war. The same taste on his tongue, the same hurry... he had hurried back and forth ever since the fire started... the frantic hope that they would, yet, find some survivors despite the fire that had launched itself upon the harbour. The sky was of the same red, the air of the same heat and filled with the same frantic desperation.

The streets were twitching in red and sooty heat, the people mere shadows, hurrying frantically.

A plane was roaring over him again, the streets and the buildings quaking under it, water dripping down. Reno was up there somewhere and although the gunfire was missing, Tseng had heard of some planes and helicopters that had been caught in the fire's thermial lift.

Rude was with the fire fighters, receiving direct orders from Rufus of whom Tseng had no idea where he presently was.

At least, Elena was with Rufus.

He nearly ran into a hurrying shadow, hurrying for the fire, hurrying with heavy equipment. As if people could yet be saved. He heard the roaring of the fire, felt the heat burn in his throat and turned around the next corner, towards the headquarter, where he hope to find Rufus. If Rufus had not done anything reckless again.

His metal arm was so heavy, burning in his shoulder socket, pulling his shoulder down, hot with the fire. He was tired, exhausted, worried about his Turks, the patients... Rufus.

"Tseng-san!" The voice was raspy with the air, he felt the grip closing around his metal arm, suddenly looking into Elena's face.

It was bruised with the soot that was falling down around them, heated, her eyes tired.

"Do you have anything to drink? - You must drink, Tseng-san!" she pressed a bottle of water into his metal hand. "No, don't say you'll drink later! We already had four... I mean, I don't want to be presumptuous or anything, but we already had four people who went down with dehydration... the air really dries you out! We can't … I mean, you should drink!"

"Thank you," he replied, almost managed to smile as another helicopter roared over them and the earth quaked, taking up the bottle. The water was warm, took up the soot in his mouth, tasted of the fire and the sulphur, viciously burned down his throat. The air around them was scorching. Her face was glowing with the red sky, red in black soot, her eyes wide. Her hand was still on his. Even if it was only the metal.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"We are running low on narcotics," he replied. He tried to give the bottle back to her, but she refused to take it. He asked himself how she could be still babbling even in a situation like this... she never failed to surprise him with her eloquence. And that she still managed to care in a situation like this.

"Oh, that's bad. I'll address it immediately after I've returned." She turned to leave, turned towards the fire.

Tseng closed his hand around her arm. Her skin was soft under the heavy Turk-cloth. "Where are you going?" He suddenly realized he was worried. Afraid, even. That she – that she and the other Turks would just disappear like friends had in Wutai.

"Downtown. Shachou sends me. We've lost contact to the main fire-squat... those old mobiles blow up in the heat."

Another plane roared over them, the ground shaking with the bellow of the engines and he did not want her to go. He knew what fires were capable of, she did not. She was not reckless, but... she had not seen what he had seen. And the fire was big enough. Last time he had checked, they were no where close to even getting it under control. And if the wind came out of the right direction... he just knew what such a fire could do. How quickly it could kill even those deemed save only moments before. The shine of the fire was flickering over Elena's face, half in the shadows of the night and the swinging gas-lamps that lit up the place. He had read the reports. All the reports.

"Do you have water?" Tseng asked. It was a vain attempt; he could see another bottle around her waist, held on to his.

Elena nodded. "Sure I do, Sir." She turned away, towards the fire, so very self-assured that it almost hurt.

"Stay away from the fire. On this scale, it sometimes develops horrible pulls."

She turned around again, looked at him with her big eyes full of her silly trust. "I'll be careful, Tseng-san!" She gave a crisp nod through the scorching air and he knew he had to hurry on into the other direction, but her short hair was flying on the hot draught, the eyes so eager to prove themselves worthy like those of so many other Turks he had never seen return who had ventured just half a metre too far. Like hers when they had jumped out of the helicopter at the Northern Crater, the wind there not scorching their lungs but burning with the ice on it, the same fierce determination on her face, the same determination not to crack, eyes white from the moon as they were now red from the fire, cheeks reddened by cold as they were now by the heat.

And those had been just words. She would not be more careful, not if the mission required her not to be. He realised that above everything, he did not want to loose her. That he was afraid – truly afraid for the first time in his life – that if she ran downtown now, she would not be careful and something would happen to her. He knew how easily things happened in a burning town. If the aisle they had made was not broad enough and the fire jumped over it. If one of the buildings collapsed onto the street. If indeed a firestorm came upon them. If – Gaia forbid – she decided to help and not return.

"Tseng-san? Is something the matter?" She was still looking at him, questioning, and, slowly, carefully, he leaned over, the red on her face falling into the deep dark shadow. Her eyes grew wider until he could not focus on them anymore and he was not sure what exactly sure what he was doing when he kissed her.

"Just be careful," he stated and turned away, surprised by his own action. Surprised with the realization that he was not playing along because he hoped her crush would dissolve once she realised that he was nothing more than Tseng of the Turks and no Hero, but because he felt truly attracted to her.

Most surprised by that stealthy little feeling that had stolen up behind him in the last few months, made a nest inside him and now, as he drew back and left with a nod, made its claim for her fierily clear inside him.

* * *

_Very well. So far. I wish all of you who celebrate it a very happy Christmas and everyone a happy New Year!_

_And I'd like to ask you for a little advise: Materia gives that prodigious glow if one casts a spell. Now, I'm looking for a name for that radiation. Because, well, everything in this world that looks fancy needs to have a scientific name. At the moment, I'm going for 'Methfessel-Paxton-radiation', but Methfessel and Paxton are two guys who found a most useful algorithm... so, any suggestions?_

_Please review._


	37. Puzzling

_Firstly – and most importantly – I'm happy to thank **licoriceallsorts **most cordially for nominating this story for **The Genesis Awards** Best Het Romance Category. This is truly a great honour!_

_I'm sorry to have kept you waiting again for so long. Initially, I wanted to post this chapter on Monday already, but I read through it again on Sunday and realized that it need quite a bit of changing._

_Please enjoy._

* * *

Chapter 37: Elena: Puzzling

_Tuesday, 15. April_

It was an alien, female hand-writing Elena had never seen anywhere but in this book. It was a beautiful little book, wrapped in soft leather, written into most carefully. She had found it in one of the paper bins when they had moved from Junon to Edge months ago. She had picked it up because... well, because it had been Tseng's paper bin and because it looked a lot like the book had fallen in there by mistake. Through all the trouble with the move, she had forgotten it. No one had ever mentioned its loss, but it had still taken her long until she had dared to look into it. A mug of something – water, perhaps – must have spilled over the book, because the ink had been washed away on most pages. Maybe, it had even been lying in the rain. After all they had lived through, perhaps it had been recovered from Shin-Ra tower when they had finally had the chance.

She had read it twice already. A mother's description of her son's first year. There must have been at least one diary before this one and it looked like it had been continued in another book, none of which she possessed.

She had at first presumed it was about Tseng, because she had found it in his bin. It had made her foggy with joy to read it.

By now, she was not sure anymore. The woman who had written this book must have been off well enough to have time to write this book. She did not know if Tseng's parents had been well off. She had always assumed he had been born in Wutai. But this book was not written in Wutain, and judging from some events that were mentioned later on, the family had at least visited Midgar if not lived there (the boy did not seem to like the building units).

It could not be about Reno because... because Reno had mentioned that he had grown up in the slums. Most likely, his parents had not even been literate.

The boy in the book was described as rather difficult in his eating habits. Elena could not even imagine Tseng being anything else then obedient. The only one of them difficult with his eating-habits was, to all accounts, Rufus. In her opinion that was because Rufus was just spoiled heedlessly. But she had always supposed that Rufus had had tons of nannies, so his parents had not needed to take care of him. Rude sometime did not eat everything, but she could hardly imagine him to have been a talkative child. Still, she could not imagine Tseng to have talked hours without end, either. But she supposed Tseng would have made a very pig-headed child.

She looked at the strange book in her hand again. She had no clue whom it was about.

The wind coming in through the window was fresh and cold. It carried the acid stink of stale fire and the night's rain on the ashes with it. The sky was blue and clouds were hurrying over it, driven by the wind. The sun was warm on her skin, turned cold when yet another cloud moved to cover it. She felt exhausted and tired, had no idea why she had picked up the book. For, above everything, it reminded her how little she knew about Tseng. She did not know where he had been born, nothing about his childhood, his parents – not even his birth date.

Not even if 'Tseng' was his first name, his surname or maybe even a pseudonym. Nothing but the fact that he had those coal black eyes, the sharply drawn mouth and those dense eyebrows... She had known him for more than four years now and she knew close to nothing about this man.

Never fall in love a man you know nothing about.

The cloud passed the sun again and the sun was warm on her uniform and skin.

His lips had been so soft, so very caring, so beautiful his smell, he proximity, his taste...

Did she not know everything that was important about Tseng? She knew he took great care of his Turks. That he loved his duty, that he took it seriously, that he was fair, silent, deadly, efficient. That he was the most perfect shadow she had ever seen. Most perfect man.

The sun grew too warm but she did not stir. Why was she thinking these thoughts now? A town was lying half in ruins, burned down, at least 500 people dead according to Reno and Rude who were dealing with the cleaning up. She had been in love with Tseng for... years. Yet, she had never thought about this. Maybe, that was why she was thinking about this just now.

Another cloud covered the sun, it turned cold. She did not even know why he had kissed her. He had looked at her so strangely and then, he had just kissed her. She had never thought kissing him would be like that. Not so warm. Yet, his lips had been warm. Soft against hers. His smell, mingled with the burning town, the soot, the roaring of the fire planes, had been so very capturing. His taste... A trickle on the lips before it turned into a deep, dark flavour. The cold metal on her nape and cheek. It had stung when he had pulled the hand away, because some of her hairs had caught between the metal joints.

She had never imagined he would be so tender.

He had not talked to her since then.

Alright, it had been only three days and she had not really seen him since then. On the first, they had still been overly busy with putting out the fire, yesterday, they had been even more busy with investigations and organisation. Tonight, after almost 48 hours, they had needed to sleep.

Now, she had only half an hour before she would talk about _her_ research to them. Well, Rufus as President, Tseng as Vice President and Head of the Turks, maybe, Reno and Rude would come, too. Not as bodyguards, though, but because Rude had been selected to handle matters of _Sulfur_, most likely because he had always gotten on well with Veld. Reno – for whatever reason – was suddenly responsible for the air support. Reno had laughed at that, during their short conversation. _He_, responsible for something! He, who had always tried not to be responsible for anything. Not even himself.

She did not know how she would behave. What to make out of that kiss while her head spun like crazy when she thought about it.

Again, a cloud moves away of the sun. This time, she turned around to look at the sky with its isles of blue.

She was almost scared of all the things she had to present; the evidence of the attack on the harbour, their power-plant up in the mountains and now, yesterday, even – she shuddered even thinking of it – their new office that had collapsed in Edge. She had no idea how the others would react – had no idea how they could face up to this once again. Did not want to be the one who made the connection between all those terrible news.

She had been hoping so much that yesterday's incident in Edge had been nothing but a result of the riot, of a mistake in building... something. Not yet another attack. She felt helpless in face of them. Helpless when she only looked out of the window and saw what was left of the town. Scared about what they would aim at next. And what it would do to Shin-Ra. For she was under no illusions that Shin-Ra could shrug off such attacks. Not – not anymore. What would it do to Rufus and Tseng? They were working so hard, picking everything up, trying, honestly trying to rebuild. How could they still continue that spiritedly when even she, to whom Shin-Ra meant so much less, was devastated? And why did people still hate them so much? What were they doing wrong? Or was it just plain hate and revenge?

The door to the common room opened and in the same moment, the atmosphere grew loud as Reno shoved in, followed directly by Rude. They had been on a secret meeting with Rufus and Tseng, since the early morning, because it was _Sulfur _Inc._,_ of course, that financed most of the rescues and was now cleaning up the harbour again. Most likely, Veld had been there, too. At least over video... Elena asked herself how Rufus and Veld got on.

"Yo, Sis!" Reno almost yelled. "Made coffee already?"

Elena quickly slipped the book back into her jacket. It was small enough for that. "If you want some, make some yourself!" she shot back. Maybe, there was still coffee in the machine.

Reno grinned over his entire face and turned around to Rude. "Yo, Aibo, want some coffee?"

Rude shrugged.

"So," Elena stared carefully. "what's going on?"

Reno grinned. "Top secret, yo!"

"Cleaning up will take a while," Rude replied calmly, pouring milk into the coffee Reno handed him. Both Reno and Rude looked as tired as she felt, as if they were only living on coffee these days. She asked herself if they felt equally dispirited by the attacks.

Elena was quite sure that Rude's comment was all the answer she was going to get. She had tried not to feel left out when Reno had told her about a 'top-secret meeting' in the morning, never mentioning that it was about _Sulfur_. It was always true: the less people knew the better. She knew they thought her trustworthy, but it was best to keep the list of people who knew about _Sulfur_ and even more so the plans to a minimum. And she had too much to do to sit idly in a meeting.

Still, she felt left out from time to time.

"I've got to go," she interrupted Reno's description of a daring flight maneuver he had performed when he had rescued some citizens. "Will you come, too?"

"To what?" Reno cocked his head.

"'Bout the bombing. I've got new data... well, my people collected new data..."

"Sure! Yo, Aibo, go, drink! We gotta hear Elena!"

Rude took a long sip and did not reply anything. Elena smiled, happy when the door closed behind her. She was a little too tired for Reno's show.

* * *

It might have been a bad idea to darken the room so her presentation would be easier to see. The darkness made her feel even more tired and she tried to fight against the exhaustion. It was a good thing she would have to give the presentation. Otherwise she would have fallen asleep in the middle of it. Three days, almost without sleep, investigating what had happened with finally some presentable data were definitely telling. On all their faces.

She did not look at Tseng when she finally opened her laptop and started her presentation. She could not look at him. One look and all her calm would have been gone. Not that she was calm. It always made her nervous to give a presentation. But different from before, she was relatively sure now that they were not waiting for her to fail so they could finally get rid of her, but seemed to at least like what she managed to gather up.

She just caught her hand in the last moment before it slipped into the bag of sweets she had brought to calm her nerves. She knew she should not have. She was eating way too much, anyway. She would grow fat and then, Tseng was never going to look at her ever again. Knowing that she was eating so much because of all the stress did not really help to keep her from eating all those unhealthy things once they smiled to her from the racks. Neither did the knowledge that she was going to get really, really fat really, really soon if she did not stop herself.

She was torn from her fight with the sweet bag when Reno and Rude pulled their chairs back and Reno slouched onto his, more than ever before. Even Rude was looking tired under his sunglasses. Out of the edge of her eye, Elena could see that Tseng looked worn with dark circles under his eyes and Elena felt her stomach clenching with sympathy.

"Good morning," Rufus pulled his chair back, placed a steaming mug and some files on the table, and sat down. On him, exhaustion showed a little less then on the others, although Elena had never seen him coordinating so many things at once as during the fire. "Very well, let's get started, will you, Elena?"

Elena nodded. "Of course, at once, Shachou!"

Rufus smirked and leaned back.

Tseng turned his attention to her, but there was no expression on his face, not even one of his not-expressions, and it made her feel a little insecure and her heart hammering madly. What was he thinking? Had he caught her – fifth movement for the bag of sweets and the quick with drawl of her hand? Was he regretting what he had done? He could not be as sick with worries as she was. Or was he?

"Um... yes...," she turned to her computer, her palms were sweaty. "Um... well, it's not much that we got, presently, and I'm afraid it's really not good news, but... I hope we will find out more in the following day.

"So, uh...," she cleared her throat, fished for the words with which she had wanted to start, could not find them, felt panic rising and took a deep breath, building up a new sentence to start with. "So... well, actually, it seems as if … I mean, I'm sure you've figured it out already, but it seems as if we have been subject to terrorist attacks at least three times..." She hesitated for a moment before she went on, looked anxiously at both Rufus and Tseng and her breath almost caught in her throat when she saw how worried Tseng looked. Rufus' face, she noticed almost as an afterthought, was grim. "First, last week in our hydro-electronic power plant up in the mountains near Surna, a turbine blew up. We first thought that it was an accident, but the investigations suggest that it was sabotage. Secondly, three days ago, a tanker blew up in our harbour, which wasn't an accident, either. Lastly..." she felt her voice flatter for a moment for listing all those horrible events made it even plainer to her how much harm they were doing to Shin-Ra, "lastly, yesterday, our new building in Edge collapsed and quite obviously not by chance. So, um... yes. We think that those attacks are all connected. So... uh... The attack on the harbour. Uh..." She tried to keep her eyes from Tseng, starred at Reno and Rude. "Well, you all know that we keep the harbour under surveillance and, well, actually, we got the attack on tape."

She looked anxiously at Rufus and Tseng before she pressed the button. Tseng's expression had not changed, and despite the smug expression on his face, Rufus looked tense.

Elena turned her eyes back to the screen where the video jumped into motion. It was black and white and a little blurred and had caught a dockworker who parked a lorry next to the tanker, was almost stopped by a foreman and then raced off with more than natural speed before his lorry exploded.

"Um...," Elena stared again. "Well, um, what we see, well, you all _know_ what we see, of course. Two things are striking: First, they parked this lorry directly in front of one of our cameras; they want us to know that this has been an attack and not a mere accident." She brushed through her hair, uncertain. "I mean, of course, you could say it's a coincidence, because the entire area was packed with cameras, but," she replayed the video, "see how the man never turns his face directly into the camera? I find this kind of... well...," she looked at the others, searching for words. "I don't know. It worries me. I mean... they have to be pretty self-confident...," she just stopped herself from rambling.

Tseng indicated a head shake. "Not necessarily. It could be a way to claim responsibility. After all, they haven't claimed responsibility in any other way, yet."

Elena blushed, almost ashamed that no one in her department – not to mention herself – had voiced that suspicion..

"Avalanche never did," Rufus pointed out. "They usually didn't smile into our cameras, either. I would like you to see if you can't find an earlier – or perhaps later – observation of that man."

Elena shook her head. "We didn't. He... he drives into town with this lorry, and the explosions destroyed the electric power supply, so we can't see where he went to. I mean, we see _outlines_ of him, but, well, it's never enough to give us a full identification, you know? Just some 40% thing, and you know that's way too bad. And – we also checked the lorry; it was reported stolen two days ago by a farmer."

Rufus nodded approvingly. "Thorough work. Pity, though."

Elena was not sure if he meant the terrorists or her and thus decided to continue. "Maybe the second thing will help us more; the man seems to be using time-slowing materia which is the only explanation for his quick get away. But, and that's our clue, the camera hasn't observed the materia-emission – you know what I mean, the light that materia emits when you use it... which we actually should be able to see..."

Rufus interrupted, frowning deeply: "I always thought it scientifically impossible to quell the _Fleming_-radiation?"

Elena blushed, looked at her hands. How typical of her to forget the word! Of course, Rufus had to correct her! She hoped he was not thinking her stupid now. Reno was nudging Rude who might or might not have fallen asleep, Rufus was looking clearly displeased, Tseng was studying her, there was a crease that knitted his tilac, and Elena felt her heart accelerating, her ears reddening while she nodded, eagerly. "That's what the materia experts told me, too, Sir. But, I mean,..." She hesitated to pronounce it, not sure how to put it nicely so she did not put her foot into her mouth again. "Um – In none of the cases of New Geostigma patients, Fleming-radiation was observed... uh, at least, the examinations explicitly don't mention it... and Tseng-san said you didn't, either... uhm... we checked that, of course. That man doesn't fit any of the patients _we_ are missing since, since we didn't have anyone who could manipulate time... so, um... I've sent the data to Edge to ask WRO... I mean, they are missing NG-patients, too. I mean, since we can't see his face it's a bit unlikely that they will recognize him, but, well, uh – just to make sure, could be, you know...?" She hoped Rufus had not lost track of what she was actually trying to say! She still felt so very flustered about forgetting that stupid name!

Rufus' eyes flickered to Tseng, then back to her. "Good thinking. - Please continue."

"Um, yes, Sir," Elena made, blushing proudly despite the seriousness of the matter. She turned back at her presentation. "I'm sorry to say that this is all we have so far on the attack on the harbour; I've got some people looking into the matter of the stolen lorry.

"So, I'll turn to Surna, if that's alright?"

Tseng gave a sharp nod and a short smile. She felt her stomach twist with joy before she turned to her computer and persuaded it to show the map of the mountainside and a photo of the Surna hydro-electric power plan which had blown up the week before. "This is the Surna dam," she started. "We got evidence here that materia was used to, well, freeze the water in the turbine which in turn led to the explosion. They – that is, our experts – are reasonably sure that this was the cause to the explosion... I mean... uh, the turbines were dented uh and not from the explosion, so... uh... - Anyway, if you _wish _I can take you through the evidence?"

"I'll take your word for it," Rufus' serious expression had turned into a smirk for a short moment, maybe because she was blundering around like an idiot again, and that just because Tseng had smiled encouragingly. But now, Tseng was looking so worried again! She wished there was any way in this world how she could make this less bad... how she could make it go away.

She nodded. "Yes, Sir. Thank you, Shachou... Uh – well. This time, the cameras didn't record strangers or anything unusual, apart from the explosion. No Fleming-radiation observed, too, but that doesn't need to mean anything since there seem to be one or two blind areas... anyway - the plant had no visitors that day, so it's almost save to assume that one of the employees at the plant is responsible for the attack. We're checking them."

She could almost feel the tension that was filling the room. Not even Reno looked close to relaxed. "So...," she closed both hands around the laser pointer she was holding, "I'll now continue with yesterday afternoon." She swallowed. They were all looking even uneasier now, horribly uneasy and she almost felt guilty about it. "I just got an estimation from our team in Edge, and they say it seems as if somebody started an earthquake materia in our new office in Edge which caused it to collapse. I've... I've already issued a search to look for someone who ordered falsified papers to enter our office in the last few months and, again, we are checking on our staff."

Tseng was looking deeply concerned. "Wouldn't they have to be in the building to start an earthquake that only collapses our building? It must have been a very powerful materia!"

Elena nodded and clicked a few slides forward towards the pictures of the collapsed building. "They were. In the building, I mean. I got some data from WRO seismologists and they determined the epicenter. They say it must have been here," She pointed her laser pointer at a half collapsed doorway, swallowed heavily to get rid of that dense fear that was building up inside her. "Everyone knows that the safest place to choose during an earthquake is a doorway."

Rufus shook his head. "That doesn't make sense. The earthquake was strong enough to collapse the entire building. Earthquakes are strongest at their center. Even a doorway shouldn't be able to withstand such forces."

Tseng gave a short nod in agreement. It seemed he had come to the same conclusion. Elena blushed. Why had she not thought of that? It seemed to be obvious... or maybe, it was just to Tseng and Rufus... they were both so very smart!

"Does make sense, yo!" Reno interrupted from the other side of the table. For being Reno, he was sitting bold upright and Elena had rarely seen him paying that much attention. Tseng and Rufus both turned their heads and so did Rude. "I mean, when we got there to pick you up that riot-night, I looked around. Burned everything right down, just not a wee circle where you and Tifa and Senpai were... well apart of Senpai's arm, 'course. Looked even a little aimed... I mean, didn't roast Elena, did you, yo? And she was closer than those soldiers."

"Reno!" Elena blushed with embarrassment. How could Reno be so unfeeling?

Reno gratified her with a broad grin and Tseng did not look as if he was particularly perturbed by the statement. Or, maybe, he was just used to Reno.

"It would make sense if the spells weren't effecting an area around the caster's body. After all, materia usually effects longer ranges and... well," Rufus allowed himself a smirk that even Elena could see did not quite work out, "if the spells were produced without such radii, I would be dead. However, I didn't quite get the impression that it could be _aimed_. So, Elena, what _you_ are aiming at is that we've got ourselves a little band of New Geostigma patients who go around blowing up Shin-Ra property?"

Elena felt herself half caught between blush and shudder at Rufus' almost cynic summary and would have liked to contradict but could not find the words for a moment, feeling way to put off by Reno's impoliteness, Rufus' demand to take up a stance and his smug reply. She forced herself to take a deep breath and shake her head. "I'm not sure if... if the terrorists are really all New Geostigma patients or if it's just a coincidence that... that we didn't observe Fleming-radiation in Surna. I will try hard and figure it out!" She hesitated a moment, being reminded by Rufus' comment about the disappearing New Geostigma patients of something else. She was not sure whether she should really mention it, having troubled them more than enough, but decided to add it anyway. "By the way, both Fontainebleaus and Scipione got away during the fire..."

"Got away, were rescued or were gotten rid of?" Rufus was looking exactly as displeased now as she had supposed he would.

Elena shrugged, helplessly. "I don't know... at least, they didn't burn in prison and aren't with the other prisoners."

Tseng closed the booklet in which he had taken notes. "Maybe, we should hope that they got away and wish them good luck."

Rufus smirked. "Maybe we should." He motioned to get up and then halted in his movement. "I do hope those terrorists won't reveal themselves as Avalanche, however."

Elena felt a cold jolt shooting through her body at this accusation. "Avalanche?", she gasped. "Shachou! I mean... Tifa wasn't nice, but... I mean, I can't imagine why they would! I mean, she knows we're not bad! I mean..." The glare Rufus sent in her direction hit her without premonition. It was so cold and forbidding that it cut her short immediately. The cold, flaring and determined anger in it almost frightened her. Never before had she been subject to that look. It was a look Rufus usually saved for shooting exercises, certainly killings or the order of killings. For people he wanted dead.

"Now, Elena, do think about what you're implying." Suddenly, there was a smirk on his face which, as the eyes did not follow, made him look even more threatening, especially because his voice was all lightness. Elena hurried to nod, felt nausea rising inside her. Rufus had rarely before managed to truly frighten her. But that look in his eyes left no doubt that he would put a bullet through her head if... well, if she dared to doubt his ability to judge ever again.

Tseng was frowning and for a horrible moment, Elena thought it was directed at her, too. "Rufus, I don't think Elena wanted to imply that you suspect them because of what happened. And I think you..."

"May I just remind you how many people still hold us responsible for what has happened? I was aiming at a _third_ generation of Avalanche. Which – as the second was rather unrelated to the first – should be unrelated to our dear friends. You know, they make such a splendid roll model."

"We _are_ responsible, Shachou," Tseng pointed out calmly. Elena felt her heart still hammering with the thought that Tseng had actually defended her. "Let me, _however_, finish my sentence: I agree. I would not even call it an unlikely option. Somebody might be copying them. We've got enough enemies."

Rufus gave a nod and Elena, if she had not still been shocked by Rufus' address to her, would have been bemused at how easily Tseng had finished off the argument. She had rarely witness such an disharmonious conversation between him and Rufus. Maybe back at Healing Lodge when they had realised something was going on and they had decided to go to the Northern Crater. She hated to remember that. But maybe, she was not the only one who was wearing thin.

"Very well. Do try to find out, Elena, what happened to Fontainebleau and Scipione. I would of course like to hear a little about the terrorist's motivation, but if they truly are following in the footsteps of Avalanche, they might not be literate enough for a written claim of responsibility. Oh, if someone did manage to subdue the Fleming-radiation and we aren't against all odds dealing with New Geostigma patients, try to find out how they do it so we can make it our patent. And do tighten security. I'd hate to have more of my plants disabled. - We need them. Dearly." The last two orders had been directed at the rest of the room, too. Rufus got up, picked up the files he had brought into the room and left. Out of the edge of her eye, Elena caught the movement of two new Turks who had been skulking outside, waiting for Rufus' return. So Tseng had already tightened security.

Which left Elena almost alone in the room with Tseng. She realized that she felt completely exhausted again and hoped – ardently – that it were not New Geostigma patients they were dealing with. As silly as it might sound, but she would have felt very sorry for them if they were killing themselves with trying to bring Shin-Ra down. All the panic they had to suffer because of it!... And if Reno was right about aiming, they would have had to train, too. She shuddered inwardly.

Reno and Rude left the room, indicated by Reno's loud 'bye, Sis!' and, strangely, Rude's nod into her direction was as obvious as his partner's voice.

Tseng turned to leave, too.

"Tseng-san! Wait!" She picked up her computer, almost tore it down because it was still linked to the projector, and quickly pulled the plug, forcing herself to abandon the sweets on the table. Let someone else have them, that, at least, was better for her waist. The blinds were quietly lifting themselves again and Tseng stopped in the doorway, specks of sun falling onto the floor where he was standing and growing up his legs. He had closed his metal hand around a file. The sun stopped half way up his chest. He looked so very tired, too, in the sunlight. Worn, grey. It hurt her to see him like that.

Still, she did not know how she should approach the topic of the kiss. He was looking at her with his calm, tired eye, never an expression in his face.

She hurried to pick up her things and felt herself growing hotter with every step as she hurried towards him. Her heart made strange leaps.

"Um," she stopped in front of him. "Thank you for defending me just now, Senpai!"

"Tseng." He turned to leave the room.

"P... Pardon?" She made, not understanding anything.

He turned back to her and looked straight at her. "You should call me 'Tseng' when we aren't working."

"Uh – we are always working, Sen – um, Tseng." To use his name without suffix tasted so very strange on her tongue and made her stomach fluttered in mad delight.

He smiled a little and that smile made her heart leap. "True."

"Well, thank you, Tseng." It was such a delight, just to taste this new shortness.

"You jumped to the right conclusion, I think. He's still thinking about her. But not kindly, I'd think."

"Not kindly?" Elena echoed and damned herself in the next moment.

"It's a waste of time to love somebody who won't love you back. He told me once."

"Oh," Elena made. In the first moment, it had felt like a punch into her stomach. "How very... economic." She only hoped the Tseng did not agree with him... that it was not a sign for her to bugger off.

Tseng smiled, again.

Inside her, she thought that it was about the saddest thing she had ever heard about Rufus. To regard love as a waste of time if it was unsuccessful, did that not mean that for him, love was just another thing that had to be accomplished? She had never regarded her love for Tseng as a waste, not a single moment and it made her shudder to think that someone could regard love in terms of 'useful' or 'effective'. Not bleed, not cry. She knew Rufus was capable of both – had at least witnessed the bleeding-matter from time to time, but that statement had always been metaphorical, had it not?

She stopped, suddenly realising something. "Is that why you...?"

Tseng blinked, took a minute to realise what she was talking about. "No. Of course not."

"I'm glad." She smiled at him, took a deep breath and reached out for his warm hand.

He froze for a moment with the touch, then his hand closed around hers.

* * *

_Thank you very much again for reading!_

_As usual, if you have any remarks, comments or suggestions, I would be most delighted to hear about them. Also, if you find any mistakes, please tell me!_

_Next Chapter: Denzel: Wherein Denzel and Marlene make a plan._


	38. Wherein Denzel and Marlene make a plan

_Another chapter._

_I hope you will enjoy._

* * *

Chapter 38: Denzel: Wherein Denzel and Marlene make a plan

"And then, what did you do?" Cloud snapped.

Tifa was silent for a moment, then, she said in a very low voice. "I gave it to Tseng."

"Tseng!", Cloud made, lowly. He sounded upset.

Tifa did not reply.

"For _him_?" Cloud asked.

Silence. Marlene knew it was not over. It had not even stared yet.

"For him?", Cloud asked again, this time lower even. He sounded unhappy.

"He had White Geostigma. He almost killed himself to save Tseng," Tifa replied. "And..."

"He made you promise, didn't he? You just stayed because Reeve made you promise that if he gives you that effing vial, you won't go to that bastard!" Although Cloud was whispering, the voice stole itself into Marlene's head. She was trying to concentrate on the homework. She felt tears stinging in her eyes and saw Denzel looking up at her from the other side of the room. He also was not working anymore. He was chewing his lower lip. He had a dark expression on his face. Marlene thought he had copied that from Rufus. Rufus looked that way, sometimes. Cloud did not like Rufus. He always started arguments about Rufus. Marlene felt guilty about liking Rufus and his Turks and not guilty because Tifa was defending them. She did not know who was right. She did not know anything. She like Rude. She felt tears in her eyes.

"Do you want to hear why I stayed here? Do you really want to?" Tifa gave back, her voice much louder as Cloud's and Marlene flinched, biting the top of her pen. She tried hard to suppress tears. Crying had never solved anything. Denzel said. Denzel slowly pushed his chair back. He looked uncertain, too. Marlene did not know what to do, just held hard onto her pen. Her pen was dancing over the paper and a number was swimming in a tear.

"I bloody stayed because of you! Believe it or not! You need me! Not Rufus! - I'm sick of you always saying I …. I stayed because..."

Marlene pressed her hands onto her ears, felt tears welling, tried hard not to hear what Tifa was throwing at Cloud once again, not at Cloud's whispered reply. Denzel had surrounded the table and put his arm around her.

"It'll be alright," he told her.

But Marlene saw the fear in his eyes, too. She hugged him back. She was afraid. Why were they arguing? Why could they not just make up? What was so hard about that? What was there that could not be solved? Why could it not be solved?

"I'm scared," she mumbled. Denzel's hug did not feel like Tifa's at all. It was feeble. He was burying his head into her shoulder, too. He was her big brother and he always protected her. But he did not know a solution either.

"I know," Denzel said and patted her shoulder. "But... adults... I think they must argue sometimes...," he said.

Marlene sniffed. "But... Pia said her parents argued all the time, too! And now, her father is gone!" She sobbed. She did not want Cloud to be gone like Rufus and his Turks were gone. She wished they were back.

"Cloud will always come back," Denzel said and hugged her even more.

Marlene knew she was sniffling again. She was always sniffling. Denzel had told her not to sniffle and she tried not to. But she was really afraid. Pia had told her that her parents had always been arguing. She did not understand what there was to argue about. What was wrong. Why Cloud thought Rufus was evil. Why Cloud was angry. Tifa had said that she had chosen Cloud, so why was he still angry?

"Can't we make them stop?" Marlene ask. "We must make them stop!" The last time, they had gone there and asked them, Tifa had been really, really angry and Cloud had been even more angry at Tifa, then. They had been sent to their rooms. Marlene was scared. She did not want that to happen again.

The argument had grown lower but Marlene could still hear them.

"I don't know..." Denzel shook his head. "They'll sort it out, Marlene."

"You always say that and then, they argue again!"

Tifa had said that, too. She had told them that adults sometimes needed to argue and that this was not bad but that they needed to solve things and that she and Denzel should not worry. But Marlene was very worried. And she felt helpless.

"I want the Turks back," she sobbed. She knew she should not say it. She did not know much about the argument, but she knew that Cloud did not like that the Turks had taken care of them and that Rufus had been nice to Tifa and that Tifa had liked Rufus.

Denzel blinked. They were sitting on the bed now. Denzel was frowning and Marlene was afraid that she had said the wrong thing again. Denzel would be yelling at her, too, and … she could not stand it if Denzel would be yelling at her, too. Denzel was her big brother! But... the Turks had been so nice and she had felt so good and she had liked Rude so much and... She seized Denzel's hand a little harder.

"I'm sorry... please don't be angry! Please!" she mumbled. She had said it before. She had told Denzel that Cloud had barged in and Denzel had been really angry with her. She still remembered it. But she _thought_ Cloud had barged in. Rude had played so often with her and Tifa had been nice to Rufus, and Reeve had been nice to them, and then, Tifa had promised Rufus to come and visit them and Rufus had been very happy about that – at least, she thought he had been – and then, Cloud had come, and suddenly, they could not go, and Tifa was always arguing with Cloud. Tifa had been happy and now, she was unhappy. Marlene felt sorry for Rufus, too. He had been promised that they would come and when he had almost kissed Tifa, she supposed that he had to be very sad that they were not coming. Maybe, he was waiting for them? Marlene knew how it was, waiting for someone. She had seen Tifa doing that a lot. And Tifa had always been very unhappy.

She knew that males and females were only supposed to love one person at a time and that Tifa was in trouble because she liked Rufus, and now Cloud was back. But Tifa had also said, when Denzel had been almost dead and she had asked her why Cloud had not come to help, that Cloud was most likely dead or if not did not care. Marlene had found that very hard and had cried for Tifa, because Tifa had been so unhappy before. So, now, she did not understand why Cloud was back if he did not care and why they were arguing. Cloud had told them, too, that Shin-Ra was very evil, and she did not know why. Shin-Ra had been nice to them. Why were they evil, then? She did not understand what was going on. Shin-Ra could not be evil. They had been nice to them and Denzel had also shown her the newspaper this morning. It had said that the huge fire in Junon had been a terrorist attack, just like the bombing of the Shin-Ra office here in Edge yesterday and that Shin-Ra and some other company were heroes because they had helped put out the fire. At least, Denzel had explained that all the difficult words in the newspaper meant that they had been heroes. Heroes were not evil, and evil people were not nice, so Shin-Ra could not be evil.

Maybe, the argument was about the newspaper again? Marlene thought. There had been a picture of Rufus and the Turks.

"I'm sorry, Denzel," she repeated. "I don't know who's right..." Cloud was a hero, too, everyone said so. Marlene really did not understand who was bad or what to believe. Was Tifa bad because she had liked Rufus? Was Rufus bad because he liked Tifa? Was Cloud bad because he … because what? Because he had not cared and cared again all of a sudden? Cloud and Rufus both had saved Denzel. Marlene could not make sense of it. Heroes were good and good people liked each other.

Denzel put his arm around her again. "I don't know who's good either," he mumbled and then, his voice turned even more quiet: "But... I think I want the Turks back, too."

Marlene blinked, her tears forgotten. "Do you?"

Denzel nodded vehemently. "Yes. They weren't good to begin with, but they got better and were always nice to Tifa and... I mean... they aren't _good – _Tifa says so, too, but... I mean... Mr Rufus saved my life and all … I mean... at least, they didn't argue... ."

Marlene nodded, surprised that her brother was talking seriously to her. He most times said she was too small. She knew she was too small. There were a thousand things she did not understand but it felt good that Denzel talked to her now. Even if he looked like crying, too. And the argument was still going on down in the living room.

"Didn't Cloud make your Geostigma go away?" she asked. She had counted that into the same miracle category as Denzel being shot _and_ saved. She knew Tifa had been very happy. And very sad because Cloud had made Rufus go away, too.

Denzel looked at her, anxiously. The voices in the living-room were still going on and Marlene felt afraid when Denzel looked away.

"Maybe. But..."

In the kitchen, something hit the floor and Marlene jumped. A door slammed and she heard Tifa shouting something. She felt her lip quiver and tears in her eyes. Again, they had not made up. Cloud had just gone somewhere again. He would be back soon and there would be another argument. She almost wished he would not ever come back again.

Denzel put an arm around her again, holding her close. "I think I have a plan, Marlene," he suddenly said after they had listened into the apartment for a while. Marlene was sure Tifa was crying again. She had cried the last few times Cloud had gone and it had frightened her horribly. She had tried to comfort her, but when she had left, Tifa had cried again. She did not know what to do. Adults could not cry. When children cried, adults explained why things were not so bad and made the bad things go away. But who made bad things go away for adults? And how bad were things when they made adults cry? She could not imagine one thing, however horrible, that made adults cry. So, if adults cried, it must be really, really horrible.

"What plan?", she asked, goggling up at her brother. Denzel was very big already. He could make a lot of bad things go away. She felt herself warm again. Maybe, he had an idea how to make Tifa and Cloud happy again? But she was very afraid of doing something. If Tifa and Cloud would find out, they would scold them again.

"I'll ask Reeve about Mr Rufus." Denzel was chewing his lip. He looked guilty. Marlene knew he liked Cloud, too. "I don't know... you know... I'll ask Reeve what he thinks." Denzel looked at her and Marlene felt funny. He looked as if she was going to be angry with him for it. "I mean... I don't think it can go on like this. So, I'll asked Reeve."

Marlene nodded. She found that a good idea to ask an adult. Adults always knew more. "That is a super idea." She hugged Denzel. "Reeve is going to help us! I'm sure!"

Denzel nodded, determined. "I'm sure he will!"

* * *

"Hello, Denzel, how good to see you! Do you feel well today?" Reeve smiled at him when Denzel slipped from the chair.

Denzel nodded and smoothed his hair back. "Yes, Reeve, Sir." People liked it if you were polite.

Reeve smiled at him. "I'm really glad you're so much better."

Denzel smiled back. He liked Reeve, the man was always nice to him and not strict at all. And he also remembered his mission. He had to make Marlene feel better. Marlene was so terribly upset about all the arguments. He had heard her cry sometimes in the evening and he had tried to make her stop, but he could not make her stop. "Um, Reeve, can I talk to you about something?"

Reeve nodded and was still smiling friendlily. "Sure! Come, we'll wait in my office till Tifa comes to fetch you, okay?"

Denzel nodded and politely said good-bye to the doctors although he hated them. He never wanted to see them again.

Reeve pushed the button to the elevator. "Is it because of the examinations? I don't think you'll have to be afraid of them. Your results are very good."

"So...," Denzel ventured. "Then I don't have to come again?" He tried to ask in the same tone he had observe Rufus used. He liked Rufus. After all, Rufus had saved his life and had treated him nicely although he had tried to kill him. Denzel blushed with shame in memory of that. Rufus was very distant, but he could say one thing and express something completely different. Denzel had not quite understood how that worked, yet, but he found it very appealing. And Rufus ruffled his hair. Denzel _liked_ his hair being ruffled. His father had used to do that.

Reeve smiled at him and followed him into the lift. "I think you won't have to come as often. I mean, of course you can feel free and come to see me, but I don't think Tifa needs to take you to the doctor more than once in a half year or when you're very ill."

Denzel grinned. "That's good news!" It made him almost happy and he would have been if he had not worried about Marlene, too. She had to be home from school now and that meant she would be alone if Cloud and Tifa argued again. She was his sister and it hurt him when she cried. Okay, sometimes, he made her cry, too, but he mostly felt bad about it afterwards.

"Is something the matter, Denzel?" Reeve asked, suddenly concerned.

Denzel was surprised. How did adults always see that something was the matter? Okay, sometimes they _thought_ something was the matter and it really was not, but most time, even if one did not want to talk about it, they were really right. He usually hated it.

"Um," he said, not sure how to put it. The lift beeped and admitted them onto the upper story, the one with the prodigious view. "Actually, it's about at home..."

"Oh," Reeve made. He suddenly sounded grave and Denzel asked himself if Reeve could possibly know what was wrong. He was not quite as certain as Marlene that adults could indeed fix everything. He had seen a lot of things that adults had not been able to fix.

"I wanted to know," Denzel said, climbing onto a chair. "I mean, Marlene and me are wondering: why are Cloud and Tifa always arguing?"

Reeve gave a sigh and sat down opposite to him. He slowly shook his head. "They have to settle things, you know? Cloud's been gone for quite a while and things have happened... they have to settle it."

Denzel swallowed heavily. Reeve was not saying 'everything will be alright again'. That was not good news. But he tried to be brave about it. So, he asked something else that had bothered him more and more these last few days: "But it's nothing Marlene and me did wrong, is it? I mean, we are doing our homework and all, but we both like … I mean we don't _hate _Shin-Ra and I know I was..."

"Denzel!" Reeve seemed truly shocked. "You must not ever say something like that! - Do you remember that day when we talked in the desert when you wanted to join WRO?"

Denzel nodded slowly.

"Well, I told you then that adults are meant to take care of the children. It is not upon the children to save this world, okay? And you most certainly don't cause the evil in this world!"

Denzel nodded, tried to be strong. He felt proud that Reeve was talking to him in such a way. "So... we didn't do anything?" he ask, just to make sure.

Reeve shook his head, slowly. He looked unhappy. "No, certainly not." He seemed to think about it, then gave a sigh. "Look, Denzel, it's... a few things went wrong, you see? Cloud first at all did not call back or left any life sign at all for over half a year, and I'm sure you know that it made Tifa really unhappy. In the end, she believed that something terrible had happened to him and he had died. So, in due cause, she started to become good friends with Rufus. So, now that Cloud came back, he thinks that Tifa had an affair with Rufus while Cloud was gone which makes him very angry, and Tifa is very angry with Cloud because he didn't call and made her think he was dead which, well, led her do things that would not have been quite right if she had known that Cloud was alive."

Denzel frowned. It had been foggy in his head, but Reeve seemed to have gathered up the essence of what was going on at home. He moved on to the perhaps most important question: "So, who's at fault?" It was a very important question because, until now, neither he nor Marlene had known which side to choose. He did not even know whether he could like Rufus because Cloud did not like him... but Cloud had been gone so long and felt so strange and Denzel felt strange because he felt like he did not like Cloud as much as he had done before Cloud had gone which was maybe because Cloud was arguing with Tifa and Denzel liked Tifa a lot and... maybe he did like Tifa less because she argued with Cloud and because she liked Rufus whom he did not know whether he was allowed like and... it was all so very confusing and he did not know what was wrong and what was right.

Reeve blinked, then smiled a little, but he did not sound happy. "I don't know, Denzel. Both... none of both... I really can't tell you. Maybe, Tifa should not have given up hope, but, honestly, I can't blame her she did. I didn't believe Cloud would be back, either. Maybe, Cloud should have called but... well, Cloud listens to his mail box, he doesn't call back, that's who he is. And he went out to get the antidote for White Geostigma. … Sometimes, you can't just say something is somebody's fault."

Denzel nodded, disappointed. It had dawned to him for quite a while now – perhaps ever since Rufus had saved his life – that 'good' and 'evil' were not as clearly defined as he had always thought they were. Sometimes, even, evil people were very good. Like Shin-Ra. Which really made the world very confusing. "So," Denzel said, chewing his lower lip. He could not come home telling Marlene Reeve had said that they just had to wait it out. "Cloud is jealous because he loves Tifa?"

Reeve nodded. "Cloud's jealous."

It took Denzel a moment to notice that Reeve only agreed to the first half of his sentence. It puzzled him. Cloud loved Tifa, he had thought that an universal truth. But Reeve had just omitted that...maybe, he had been just lazy? Adults were sometimes lazy and forgot to say half of the sentence and then were angry if you did not think of it. But maybe, he had omitted it because... well-... Denzel needed to think about it. It did not feel as if he could ask Reeve right out. The answer had been too... too chosen. So, he did the next best thing:

"So, what are me'n Marlene going to do about it?"

Reeve brushed with his hand through his hair and gave a sigh, then he smiled at Denzel, and Denzel knew that it was that kind of smile that was used for small children when you told them that it was a lie and that Santa Claus did in fact exist. "It's not your place to find a solution, Denzel. You're a child. It's Cloud's and Tifa's place and they will find one, I promise."

* * *

_My arse_, thought Denzel on the same evening when he sat in bed. When Tifa had come to pick him up, Reeve had asked Denzel to wait a moment outside while he talked to Tifa. Usually, Denzel did not mind. He knew Reeve and Tifa were talking about _Sulfur_ which he understood was a new big company. Tifa was investigating the company presently, he knew. It was one of the reasons because of which Cloud was angry with Tifa. He said Tifa only investigated the company because she could not stand being at home with him while Tifa maintained someone needed to help Reeve and Cloud should help her with the investigations. They had had several arguments about it.

But Reeve and Tifa had not talked about _Sulfur_. For when Tifa had come out, she had looked very worried. At home, she had asked both him and Marlene to join her in the living-room and had _explained_ to them that there was no need to worry about Cloud and her and that they were fine. She had hugged them and told them that everything would be alright. But nothing was alright. Marlene had cried again afterwards and now – at two o'clock at night, Tifa had just closed the bar – they were at it again. Denzel had tiptoed to the door and listened. It seemed they were arguing _because_ he had talked to Reeve and Reeve had talked to Tifa about it

Denzel had been too angry to listen any longer. He was angry with Reeve that he had told Tifa and that he had made things worse with it, and he was angry with himself that he had not come up with a better solution. He was especially angry with Tifa and Cloud because they always made Marlene cry and because he hate to come home and was afraid that Marlene would cry again. He wanted to go outside and punch that stupid street light again just like the other night. It had been after another argument, too, and it had felt so good ever time that stupid light had flickered out.

Something soft was padding down the floor, and slowly, his door opened a crack and a shadow slipped inside, closing the door behind her. Marlene's shadow tapped towards his bed.

"Can you move over a bit, Denzel, please?" Marlene begged. He had told her that he had talked to Reeve and that Reeve had given him the adults-will-take-care-of-everything-crap.

Denzel moved over a little and made room for Marlene. Her feet were cold when she slipped under the blanket. He feared she was crying again. Instead, she switched on a torch.

"I have a plan," she hissed, pulling the blanket up. She looked satisfied.

"A plan?" Denzel echoed. He was still feeling bad that his had failed so fulminately. And that he had failed to hide the newspaper this morning before Cloud had seen the article about Junon and Shin-Ra.

Marlene nodded vigorously, her tired eyes aglow in the torch light. "Yes. We'll run away!"

Denzel gasped. "That's stupid! I tried to live on my own before! It doesn't work!"

Marlene pouted. "Listen, Denzel!" she whined. "I wasn't finished! - I looked at all the rail-way-plans _and_ I asked a train-attendant! I know how to get to Junon!"

"How comes you ask a train attendant?"

"Julie's father is one, so I asked."

"Oh," Denzel made. "But what do you want in Junon?"

Marlene rolled her eyes. "Shin-Ra is in Junon," she said and Denzel had a feeling she was proud about it.

"So?" he said. He was a bit angry that _he _had not thought about it.

"Well, we'll ask them if they'll take us in, you dunderhead!"

"Are you sure they will?"

Marlene nodded vehemently. "Of course they will! Rude has always been nice to me! And Reno is nice, too. And Elena gave us those bonbons, do you remember?... Mr Rufus showed me how to build and clean a gun, too! I'm sure they like us!"

Denzel was not quite sure if they liked them enough to take them in. "I don't think they'll let us live with them. They'll send us straight home," he said. "And we'll be in huge trouble," he added darkly.

Marlene did not seem to have thought about it and her eyes suddenly got watery again. "But..."

Suddenly, an idea crossed Denzel's mind and he petted his sister's hair. "You're ingenious, Marlene! If they bring us back, Cloud will see that they aren't evil at all and Tifa will be terribly mad at them for luring us away, and then, Cloud won't be jealous anymore!" He just knew how mad Tifa would be! She had also been very mad when he had said that he wanted to be a Turk just like Rufus and Tseng who saved other people's life just like they had his. "Also, it takes at _least_ one day to get there by train and in that time, they'll be really, really worried looking for us and so, they'll have to make up again!... But we will leave them a letter that we haven't been kidnapped." Tifa would otherwise think that the Geostigma-people had kidnapped them and that would make her too worried. Also, if Tifa was not worried enough, he would just try out lying – Rufus had once encouraged him there – and would tell Tifa that Shin-Ra had asked them if they did not want to come. He felt bad about it already, but at least, Tifa would be really angry that way and Cloud would see that there was no reason to be jealous.

"Or maybe," Marlene whispered under her breath, beaming, "Tifa will come and get us and then, Mr Rufus will persuade her to stay and Cloud will be happy because he sees that Shin-Ra is good to us and he won't have to worry about Tifa when he goes away again!"

Denzel thought that it would not quite work that way, but Marlene looked too enthusiastic for the first time in days for him to want to correct her. So, he just nodded and said: "Maybe..."

Marlene beamed at him. "So, when are we leaving?"

"We will pack in secret tomorrow after school and then, we'll wait for a moment when both of them are not at home and then, we will go, okay?"

Marlene nodded and beamed. "Okay!"

* * *

_Thank you very much again for reading and I hope you enjoyed.  
_

_The next chapter will be dealing with Rufus again: Chapter 39: Wherein Shin-Ra and WRO discuss _Sulfur.

_Reviews – as ever – would be very welcome._


	39. Wherein ShinRa and WRO discuss Sulfur

_** anonnie:** **I'm not quite sure Cloud's aware of his own feelings, but it will all turn out well in the end, I promise!**  
_

___Another chapter. Again, it turned out a little longer. _

_I hope you'll enjoy._

* * *

Chapter 39: Rufus: Wherein _Sufur_is suspicious

_Tuesday, 15. April_

The dark shadow was chasing after the helicopter over the mountains, still snowy on top, over a white, sparkling glacier that turned into a wild river, tearing its way to a valley blooming green with the spring. The slops of the mountains, the rushing river slowly trailing out into the desert area around Edge. There were small spots of green along the river bank, trees venturing out into the desert. Nature was claiming back the drained area, slowly erasing the deep shame Shin-Ra had loaded upon itself.

Or so, perhaps, people thought.

Rufus was looking outside, awoken by the sudden change in flight behaviour when the helicopter had crossed from the open sea to the mountain land. The sun was blazing down on them from the bright, cloudless sky while the shadow ran over the rugged and desolated landscape below them. Rough stone sharpened by wind and weather, the yellowish grey of the endless sand, before way in the distance, in the direction of Midgar where the flaring desert met the sky, the sunlight was reflected back. Reflected by the towers of Edge, the shattered ruins of Midgar.

It was still Shin-Ra tower that grew into view first, sun glimmering back from its shattered glass. Only after its top had scratched the sky, slowly, the rest of the town heaved itself up from behind the horizon, baking in the merciless bright light.

If he was not much mistaken, the second tower that made its appearance would be WRO's.

He sneered.

Of course it was. Could not be new Shin-Ra tower anymore.

For a moment, staring at that sight, he felt a surge of hate rising which surprised him. He was not one to hate. Dislike, perhaps. Hate – no. And yet, that the tower was missing, was that bloody nobility's fault. He could not believe he had agreed with Tseng when Tseng had said that they had had their revenge and that, presently, they neither had the resources nor the money to hunt them down. He still remembered that infinite puzzlement on his Turk's face when he had agreed openly after Elena's presentation which, maybe, had been worth those words. However, not looking actively for them certainly did not mean that he would not have them killed when they found them passively. He hoped, very much, that they had fallen into the hands of those violent New Geostigma terrorists. That, at least, would spare him the trouble with Reeve which he would definitely find himself in if he killed them. Pathetic.

The bleached desert was hurrying away below them, and in the west, the sky was already tainted slightly reddish, heralding the sunset. While the sun was still blazing, the fleecy clouds were already painted in the slightest pink, chased by the sea wind into the direction of Midgar like sunset was chasing them. It would be a while – perhaps half an hour - for the hint of the black, fractured purple where the clouds joint up to a front to appear. It was still about half an hour flight to Edge. They would outrun darkness, but only for a few more moments.

Reeve had called in yesterday afternoon already, directly after the attack on their representation, requesting a meeting. Seemingly, not only Shin-Ra employees had been killed. If Rufus was not much mistaken, they would discuss _Sulfur_, too, and as much as he trusted Tseng, he felt a lot more comfortable with getting his own impression of the situation.

Not that he felt very comfortable in general. He was tired, worried, exhausted. Deep down inside him so horribly lethargic and bored, even though when – if – he went to sleep at night, weary from the day, he still knew that he had not done quite enough, that there was still much more that needed to be done. It had been perhaps the smartest idea in quite a while to split Shin-Ra up. All that deceit had motivated him a little more, made it less difficult to get up and moving, had made him feel less empty. He only hoped that they would have dealt with the terrorist problem before it became officially known that _Sulfur_ was Shin-Ra. Or, Gaia forbid, before they ran out of money. But he did not even want to think about that.

At least, with _Sulfur _the situation was only worse instead of worst. If Shin-Ra had still been whole, he would have not known how to protect the company effectively in face of the terrorism. Now, those fools were gnawing at something that would hurt – deeply – to give up but was not irreplaceable. For, as much as he hated to admit it, Shin-Ra was staggering. A few more attacks on that scale and they would be done with. Even the idea of it was making him panic. He knew he should care less. Empires had fallen before and would fall afterwards. There had been sons and daughters before who had tried to wrestle the empire from their parents, there would be again. Even Meteor would repeat itself again. Still. He did not remember having been conscious or alive ever before. This was his life, most likely the only one that would ever be given to him. He was not about to let it go to waste. Not over semi-senile fathers, not over semiscient Sephiroth-clones, not over yet another set of terrorists. And certainly not because he had been senseless enough to let emotions get the better of him.

_Elena_ had implied he was emotionally compromised. Even the idea of it made him sick with fury. How could she even think he would be as weak as to let his decisions or thoughts be governed by _Tifa_? What kind of person, indeed, would allow his judgment to be clouded by _affections_? It still angered him deeply that Elena thought it possible that he could not separate the unfortunate incident from his duty as Shin-Ra's president. He only hoped that it was not the way her judgment worked.

He looked at the file on his lap, his watch. It was still more than twenty minutes to Edge. He listened to the engine roaring out its deafening song as he let his head sink against the frame of the helicopter.

He only hoped Tifa would not be there.

But why would she? Now that Cloud was back, there was no reason for her to skulk around at Reeve's.

If there was one thing he could not forgive her, it was that she had not explained herself. Not that the situation had _needed_ much of an explanations. Even if his company had almost killed the planet and he had had a staring roll in it. Still.

Tseng was studying him from the over side of the helicopter. The light was falling into the small room, onto the prosthesis, hidden by the dark glove and the sleeve. Tseng, too, looked extremely tired. They all were.

He felt the vibrations of the engine against his temple. He would deal with it. Even if terrorists were once again trying to wipe Shin-Ra off the planet's surface, he would not let them succeed. The sun was warm on his skin, he felt the tiredness burning inside him, looked at the file, an abstract about how long it would take to rebuild the harbour and how expensive it would be. Maybe, he would draw away a little money from the amounts he was feeding to WRO each month, just so Reeve thought they were struggling heavily indeed. Well, as if they were not.

Just not that much.

Yet.

He closed his eyes again. He would never allow things to go that far. At least he would try. He was well aware that the time of wishful thinking had long passed. Perhaps even the time in which thinking had actually been helpful.

Rufus woke slightly before Tseng's hand touched his shoulder. The sun was burning down on the helicopter from a merciless blue sky as it slowly lost height to settle down on the helicopter platform. There was the stale taste of sleep in his mouth, he still felt slightly dazed as the helicopter thudded down in the middle of the yellow H and the pilot cut off the deafening engine.

When Tseng opened the hatch, burning heat flooded the compartment.

Rufus slipped the head set form his ears and followed Tseng outside into the harsh sunlight that bleached all the colours from the world. The air was fiery and the view endless over miles and miles of parched desert before it melted into the dark-blue horizon, at the tower's foot, the town below them was baking in the billowing air that engulfed everything in a torrid haze. Up here, a fierce, scorching wind was pulling at his clothes when he propelled himself onto the parched concrete of the helicopter platform. It ripped his jacket open, hot and dried out, to no extend a relief from the baking heat and the roasting sun. There was not a single cloud in the sky, their shadows not more than timid isles around their feet, they, too, almost bleached away by the sun.

Rufus squinted his eyes against the sun, felt strangely rested by the short sleep, revived by the heat and the fierce wind so dry that it split his lips, sweating almost from the thought of movement.

Reeve was coming towards them over the platform, shielding his eyes against the sun. Even on this short distance, his outlines were dancing in the heat, parched out by the sun. Heat was swimming on the concrete, baking through Rufus' clothes.

"I'm glad you could make it! Come on, let's get inside! The weather is horrible again!"

Rufus gave a polite nod and accepted Reeve's hand. "Good to see you again, Reeve."

Tseng only inclined his head. He had put on sunglasses and although two of the new Turks – Sandra and Ba'al – were following them, Rufus noticed that Tseng was falling in one step behind him and that he was scanning the surround. Old habits obviously died hard.

Reeve led the way and seemed determined to get as quickly as possible out of the sizzling heat. He held the door wide open for them, and after the scorching desert on the helicopter deck, the conditioned air inside the building came almost as a shock. The door swung close behind them and left nothing of the day but the pleasantly blue sky. Even the savage sunlight was filtered to delightful warmth through the awnings the forceful wind flapped against the windows.

"Welcome again," Reeve turned back to them as soon as they had entered. "I'm sorry, but at the moment, the heat can barely be countenanced outside the building."

Rufus gave a short nod. "I can imagine. - I do hope you are not experiencing problems with the water supply?"

Reeve winced a little and Rufus barely hid a smirked. His guess had been right, then. Edge was running low on water. He would of course issue an offer which _Sulfur_ would underprice. At the moment, it seemed rather prudent to make all the business ventures with _Sulfur_, so whoever the terrorists were, they could happily bomb Shin-Ra to kingdom come without causing the actual plan much of a damage.

"It's not as bad as that, but if the weather stays like this, I'll be forced to ration the water." Reeve led the way down the familiar stairways towards the conference rooms. Rufus decided not to think about one of the last times he had been here when water had been hammering against the panels and he had been so very stupid.

"It is a rather unusual weather for this time of the year," he remarked instead.

Reeve nodded. "Yes. We hope it'll soon rain in the mountains. Actually, the weather forecast says we will have some clouds today evening, but I doubt they'll bring rain... though it might cool down the air a little. - I've been hoping for rain here, too, but, well, you know Midgar and rain in summer!"

Rufus nodded. Reeve seemed strangely relaxed, he thought. Not as stressed as the last few times they had been here. Not as distrustful. Or perhaps, he himself was so stressed by now that Reeve just seemed relaxed in comparison. The thought made him smirk, but the smirk immediately died on his face for in the same moment, Reeve had pushed the doors to the conference room open and there, at the window, Tifa was standing, turning around when they entered, dark hair swirling around her.

He felt the unwelcome jolt in his stomach as it tightened at her sight and his heart rate accelerated. Pathetic, really.

"Miss Lockheart," he gave her a short nod. He forced down the thought that her face was indeed as appealing as he remembered it.

Well, perhaps he despised her, too, for making him want to act foolishly.

"Tifa is helping me with the investigations on _Sulfur_ presently," Reeve explained and sounded almost proud about it. As if it were an achievement. "Please, take a seat."

"Indeed?" Rufus smirked. He was not going as far as to draw the conclusion which almost suggested itself; that she was trying to spent as little time at home as possible. "How – remarkable."

Tifa frowned at that, her eyes suddenly on him. "Remarkable because...?"

"I thought you could not wait to get back to your bar."

Tifa crossed her arms in front of her chest while her frown deepened and her mouth drew into a thin line. "I'm here because Reeve helped me often enough, and now, he needs _my_ help. - For no other reason. And as I'm seeing it, you could use some information on _Sulfur_, too. They _have _been helping a lot with the evacuation and now cleaning of the harbour, haven't they?"

"I see." He sat down. Judging from her expression, her tensed reaction and that reply, she was working for Reeve for every _but_ that reason. It added up with her rather worn looks and the even worse misfortune of clothing she was wearing. Not that it was any of his business. Her own fault entirely if she had maneuvered herself into an unfortunate position. He smirked. Perhaps, her presence was not so very disastrous. After all, she had been member of a terrorist group, too. Maybe, she had same rather valuable information.

"But with four of attacks in less than three weeks," Rufus turned back to Reeve, "and over 600 people dead, I'm guessing you are not just having me over for small talk on _Sulfur_. Even if, until now, all the attacks were directed only at Shin-Ra." Tifa was disturbing in the edge of his eye. Could she not have taken up tree-hugging or a little more world-saving instead of helping Reeve with _Sulfur_?

"That is exactly where you're wrong," Tifa gave back.

"Am I?" He raised an eyebrow. It seemed he was disturbing her almost as much as she was disturbing him. Which was perfectly alright with him.

"Yes, you are. There've been two attacks on WRO, too. On a lower scale, given, but, yes, two attacks. Barret – Barret Wallace – mentioned that their pipelines have been sabotaged three times in the last four weeks. And we are very sure that the complete failure of all pumps on one of WRO's oil-platforms was due to sabotage, too. Every evidence points into that direction."

"Those pipelines used to be Shin-Ra property, though." Interesting. So, were the terrorists not exactly as well informed as they had supposed or was Shin-Ra not their only target?

"Elena of the Turks sent us photos and a video yesterday," Reeve turned back to his desk to pick up a file. He had watched them throughout the conversation and Rufus could not but noticed that half frown he had been trying to hide. "She asked us to check the identity of the man in them with our White Geostigma patients. It was a bit difficult because his face never appears, but my people got a hit."

Now, that was most interesting. Rufus answered Reeve's gaze calmly. He knew perfectly well that Reeve was making a pause so they would tell him why they had asked him, but he was not willing to share information without being ask to. Outside, the sun was setting, the smoggy sky in its harsh red was reflected by the ice cubes in the glasses. The clouds that had started piling up at the horizon were of a deep lilac shadowing down into a dark blue.

"Will you tell us why you asked?" It was Tifa who spelled it out. She did not even sound very irritated doing so. Just as if she had expected him not to reply. In turn, it irritated him that there was the edge of a pleasant sensation at realising that she knew him well enough to anticipate his replies. How most pathetic. He definitely had to work on his self-control. The lack of it irked him exceedingly. And that warm sensation in his stomach made him feel most unhappy.

"The attack on the harbour three days ago has been recorded on video tape," Tseng replied in his stead. "It seems that materia has been used, but no Fleming-radiation was detected. This leaves to two possible conclusions. The first one would be that someone managed to subdue the Fleming-radiation which is unlikely...," Rufus gave a sharp nod in agreement, "...and the only other alternative would be that a New Geostigma patient was responsible for the spell. We know that the attacks can be willfully triggered," Tseng continued smoothly.

Rufus felt Tseng's eyes upon him but did not look up. He did not want to meet Tseng's eyes over that. Not with this metal hand winding around the glass.

Instead, and that was not much better, he saw Tifa frowning. "But it cannot be controlled," she disagreed quietly as if she had disagreed on the matter before or as if something in her head was adding up and she did not like it.

"It seems to me that, while direct control isn't possible, it tries to neutralize what is causing the fear," Tseng stated.

Rufus looked at Tseng, surprised by the Turk's point. Maybe, he should not have avoided the topic. Tseng's conclusions were valuable as usual.

Reeve cleared his throat. "The man in the videos, Thomas Bennet, is capable of imitating time-slowing materia. He's been missing for two weeks. But...," Reeve hesitated for a moment. "I've talked to him several times... He didn't seem to me like a violent man."

Rufus smiled smugly. "How far would you go to save your life?"

"Not that far, surely," Tifa made from the other side of the room.

"Such words from you, Miss Lockheart? I had rather hoped you would enlighten us a little. After all, you must feel at least a slight solidarity with that man, having engaged in similar activities." It was fortunate that they had engaged in verbal sparing matches before. It would not do to be thought revengeful. But on the other hand, he did not want to be reminded, either. Still, he asked himself if Tifa had not felt even slightly pretentious if she accused him of being responsible for murder with her own past. He noticed that Reeve was looking at her quite a bit and it irked him.

Now, she stared at him and he could see the anger behind her eyes, tried not to feel anything but satisfaction at the outrage or the memory, smirked, as he saw her opening her mouth to protest which would give him another opening to attack. But in the same moment, she closed it again. "You are right, Shinra. I know exactly what it feels like to be bombing reactors. But different from them, we never aimed at killing people. And we both know that it wasn't right to blow up your reactors, whatever you had done to us... - same as you know that it would not have been right to _rule the world with fear_, right?"

He gave her a smug smile. "Certainly." Nothing else but agreeing to that would do, of course. Especially because he sadly needed Reeve's good opinion. Still, he did not feel entirely comfortable to be reminded of that statement, those words half blown away by the harsh wind, stated in the euphoria of victory. Quite embarrassing and most of all compromising, regarded from today's view. Even if it _had_ made sense back then. "That was very foolish, and I regret it deeply." He added this without the smirk and it was not even a lie.

Tifa glared at him and he tried hard not to feel more than the satisfaction of unsettling her. Certainly not that tight node in his stomach, certainly not elevated by that half mischievous smile in her eyes. Could he not just blow her brains out? But of course, that would not do.

Reeve and Tseng were both rather frowning; Reeve clearly at Tifa, and it was impossible to miss that Tseng was frowning at him.

"Whatever." He turned his eyes back to Reeve. "Have you had a trace of Fontainebleau and Scipione, yet?"

Reeve replied his gaze. "According to my information, the Fontainebleaus and Scipione had every opportunity to escape during the fire. It need not be related to fire. I would call it indeed a little overdone to start – something like that, just to free some prisoners."

Rufus nodded, well aware that Reeve was criticising their management of the evacuation. Or perhaps that they had dared to evacuate the prison at all. "True. It seems the prison was rather badly prepared for a fire."

Reeve did not seem happy about that statement. The faint reddish light of the sunset was falling into the room through the broad glass front behind Reeve's desk, stealing its way over the polished floor. The sun was almost too low now to be still shining into the building, the darkness was creeping in as violet shadows between the dark blue clouds while slowly, the lights in the conference room started to glow into life.

"We do our level best to catch them again, of course," Reeve returned sourly. "But we don't think they've got anything to do with it."

Rufus studied them. Reeve was hesitating. Perhaps at last, they were arriving at the core of the matter. Why Reeve had asked them to come. Reeve himself looked rather tensely at Tifa who started upon that look: "Cloud mentioned something interesting when he told me about his journey. He met a, well, group, it seems, up North – he didn't say exactly much on the group – but this group wants to destroy Shin-Ra," she nodded at Rufus and Tseng while Rufus tried to keep his face void of emotion when she mention Cloud, "and after that everything else that doesn't win energy from renewable energy supplies."

Rufus gave a fatalistic nod. It did not really surprise him anymore that people wanted them exterminated. What rather surprised him was that so few were honestly trying.

"The surprising thing about the situation is that all this falls together with another occurrence," Tifa continued.

Rufus studied her. It did not suit him at all that until now, he could not call her comments nonsense. Or that she might actually be here for another reason than to irk him. "Which would that be, then, Miss Lockheart?"

"Why, Mr Shinra, the arrival of _Sulfur _Inc., of course."

Rufus blinked. "Pardon?" Where on Gaia did this come from now? He tried hard to keep the flabbergasted expression from his face. "We've run every possible check on _Sulfur_. They don't seem to have any terrorist connections. Why would they join hands with a terrorist group from up north? Besides, just because a company happens to establish itself..."

"Well, yes, but according to the information you sent over, you don't know much about _Sulfur_, either," Tifa gave back. "You might have unearthed who is leading the company, but – does it not strike you as quite a coincident that your tower burns down and not two weeks after, a strange company pops up to buy up the remains? That they only seem to be buying up environmental companies, they don't have anything to do with oil or mako, they've issued an official complain against the building of that spa right after their foundation, _and_ the second in command of Tamara Young, this Henric Powell, his parents were from the Northern Continent. There are a few clues that she herself went into hiding there, too. Indeed, it seems more likely that she did, because... well, if you want to hide somewhere and no one to find you, the Northern Continent is the perfect choice.

"_Plus_, they were the first to offer their help after the attack on Junon's harbour, _and_, as far as I've seen it, they are heavily involved in the cleaning up – profiting most from that attack. Most of all, we know almost nothing about them. Not because I'm too stupid to look but because they are hiding everything too well. Wouldn't such a company be a perfect front for terrorists?

"And, just apart from that: you're a rival. Bombing you away would create a – what's it called – market gap."

Rufus stared at her, then at Tseng, then at Reeve. "My, I can see why Reeve asked your help." Amazing. If he had not known for sure that _Sulfur_ was not led by a troupe of tree-hugging psychopaths, he would have felt compelled to check. As far as logic was concerned, she did have a point. Just apart from the fact that she was somewhat jumping to conclusions that should have been made much more carefully. But she did not know about _Sulfur_, of course.

"Is that a compliment, Shinra?"

"You do seem to have a point." He contemplated if he should add that, most likely, it was just a coincident that Cloud talked to her about a radical tree-hugger group on the Northern Continent and the rise of an environmental company here, but decided against it. It would not matter for their investigations if the group was believed to be associated with _Sulfur_. If steered into the right direction, it would even protect them from being found out. But it would not do if anyone thought _Sulfur_ a terrorist organisation, either. "So, you're suggesting that that group Cloud met up North, the riot here in Edge and the appearance of _Sulfur _are connected?"

Tifa gave a short nod, crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Cloud hinted that _he_ thinks that this group is responsible for the riot in Edge."

Rufus frowned. He did not like people messing with his view of things. But they _knew_ who was responsible for that riot and that definitely had not had anything to do with any fauna loving flower children. Was Cloud – and therefore Tifa – just seeing connections that were not there? Or did Cloud know something about the fate of Fontainebleau and Scipione? Had the group perhaps caught them and Cloud now thought the group was connected to the riot? Or was he just piecing together odd rumours, drawing wrong conclusion? Rufus would have given a lot to know about the fate of those royal idiots – or perhaps to have some questions answered by Cloud. Maybe that group was related to the attacks. But it was definitely not reacted to _Sulfur_ and there was also no way it could be related to the riot. He rubbed the bridge of his nose. "It might be wise not to mention outside of this office that we suspect _Sulfur_ might be involved. If it turns out to be wrong – or almost impossible to proof which it should if that company is worth its money – WRO and Shin-Ra would find themselves involved in a very expensive lawsuit for calumny."

"Absolutely," Reeve agreed and Tseng next to him gave a crisp nod.

"I suggest you find out as much as possible about that – group. Question your Cloud a little deeper. Most of all, figure out what this connection between the group and the riot is. For, you and I know who is responsible for that one."

Tifa was looking at him, her eyes of an expression he could not place but which he did not exactly like because it made him feel rather warm inside. "I'll ask." She seemed to be thinking something that she was sadly not adding. It might have been rather enlightening.

"What will you do?" Reeve asked, cautiously.

Rufus smirked, tearing his eyes from Tifa. "We'll put up a trap."

Tifa looked as if she wanted to face-palm herself. Which was perfectly alright with Rufus. It meant she believed him with respect to _Sulfur_.

"We should also coordinate our increase in security," Tseng suggested. "In case they try to smuggle themselves in as representatives of the other company."

Reeve nodded. "I'll allocate some WRO-soldiers to the Shin-Ra-plants here in Edge, and I'll put you into contact with my head of security."

"Very good. We will, of course, inform you about the finding of the Turks. With this settled, we should turn to the victims of the attack. I am grateful that WRO has offered so much help, but their supply is still far from perfect. I'm sure WRO is as interested as Shin-Ra in supplying them with the best care and moving them into humane emergency accommodations while not leaving much room for _Sulfur_. Plus, I think we should be prepared to react quicker. For that, resources have to be refilled and generated. We also need to discuss how exactly we will protect the population from further attacks. A mere increase in security is nothing but purely rushing headlong into it." The sun had already disappeared behind the horizon, but he had not felt as awake ever since the explosion of the tanker.

It was so much fun to play both WRO and Avalanche.

* * *

_As usual: I hope you enjoyed and I would be very glad about reviews._

_In the next chapter, Tifa's view of the situation will become evident... and Cloud's._


	40. Loveless

_Another new chapter which will – to great parts – deal with how Cloud sees the situation._

**kadajclone100** :_ I admit I don't like Cloud very much, but I don't believe he's earned it to be treated as an idiot either. So, I hope this chapter will make a little up for what has been written so far. It might be that Cloud appeared quite badly because we've so far only seen him through not very sympathetic eyes._

_This chapter is dedicated to **Licoriceallsorts **who tempted me exceedingly._

_I hope you will enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 40: Tifa: Loveless

It hurt. Tifa was surprised how much it hurt. Not to be looked at, not to be smiled at, to be treated again like the silly girl who had come to Shin-Ra tower, asking after Cloud. But, strangely, most of all, it hurt that Rufus was calling her 'Miss Lockheart' again.

She had not expected it. She had not realised that she had actually been looking forward to meet Shin-Ra again. She had not expected to realise that she had gotten use to those verbal sparing matches with Rufus and how much she was actually missing them. Him, too. But he had been cold, eyes like ice again and now that he was rising from his chair, he did not spare her a single look. Had not during the entire discussion about business. He had been even colder than usual and the additional, this time not really playful scorn in his words was even more hurtful.

Yet, she also could not understand how he could be so _full_ of himself not even to feel a tiny bit thankful towards Cloud who, even if unknowingly, had cured him of that horrible disease. It made her angry, and with a surge she realised that she was angry _for_ Cloud. Angry _with _Shin-Ra. It was nothing like the anger she had felt before and it was underlined by all that guilt, but maybe, maybe it was a step into the right direction.

She pushed herself up, too, following the rest of the group.

It was pitch black outside, only the lights of the buildings shimmering through the profound darkness, the scorching wind rattling on the blinds. She tried to want to go home to Cloud.

Rufus turned to the door, talking to Reeve about the water supply that she knew was becoming a problem. Tseng, a shadow, was following them. She followed, too, not knowing what else to do.

She felt guilty. Even though Rufus had not displayed the smallest hint of his former attention to her – apart, certainly, from the contempt in his voice whenever he talked to her – she felt guilty. She knew she had treated him abysmally. Whatever she had promised Reeve and whatever reasons she had had, it had not been fair. She should have offered an explanation. She wished she could just go over and tell him that – what? That it had not been about him or Cloud but that with love always came responsibility and that, while love was a fickle thing, responsibility stayed? She could not even picture herself telling him that she had decided for Cloud because she knew Rufus would be able to walk on without her while she had feared that she would have left Cloud completely adrift. She had thought Cloud needed her. But Cloud had come back so much stronger. So changed.

The doors to the elevator binged open and she followed into the narrow space. Reeve was theorizing about materia now and Rufus seemed to listen rather interestedly. Tseng, she noticed, was eying her coldly.

She asked herself why she had not told Rufus. Why she had not written a second letter and listed all her reasons. Had she been afraid that he would continue his attentions if she had named her reasons? Maybe. Maybe she had hoped that she could still go back to that Shin-Ra-hating-Cloud-loving time where the world had been black and white and perfect. Where terrorism had been okay if it had been for the right cause. Where Tifa loved Cloud. Maybe, she had just been afraid of her own resolve. That she would truly fall in love with Rufus if she continued to see him and – most of all – if he continued to be nice.

She had thought she was protecting him from an agonizing time of being rejected every single moment they met, of being kept a 'friend'. Seeing him that almost demonstratively uncaring now made it evident to her that all she had done was to protect herself.

The elevator came to a halt and released them onto the mirroring floor of the observation deck. The blinds had been drawn, and in the bright, harsh floodlight outside, she could see the Shin-Ra helicopter. She could also remember them standing here, waiting for the rain to diminish.

"Miss Lockheart?" Tseng' voice almost made her jump.

"Yes?" she replied, stopped when he stopped, too.

Reeve and Rufus were walking down further down the corridor.

"Do you see the helicopter there?"

Tifa blinked, intrigued by the conversational tone in Tseng's voice. Even more intrigued now that she remembered that his left arm was actually fake and how real it looked. "Yes, of course I do," she replied, slightly bewildered.

"Good. It is a remarkable machine, isn't it?"

Reeve and Rufus had almost reached the door.

"Is it?" Tifa produced, confused. Clearly, Tseng was up to something. The looming presence of the Turk was cold. Dark and as calm as she remembered him to be. Black in his perfectly fitting Turk-suit, black with that perfectly arranged hair – now up in a jet black and sharply cut pony tail. It showed more of his face which, him being from Wutai, should have been soft. It was as precise as his words, the mole so absurdly accurately placed in the middle of his face that was not displaying a single expression. There was no expression in it, no nothing. Just coldness and professionalism. She had not thought he was even capable of uttering such banalities.

"If you ever dare to get close to Rufus again, I will kill Cloud." He inclined his head, shortly but very polite. "Good evening."

"Good...," she almost replied, then stared at the Turk as his words finally sunk in. He had uttered them in a conversational tone, without a single threat in his voice. Just calmly. Yet, even though she knew she was most likely capable of taking him out this very second, those words sent a shiver down her spine. He had already reached the door at the end of the corridor when she realized that he had not threatened to kill _her_ but to kill Cloud which made her shudder once again, even though it made no sense on the first look. On the second – just when her anger started rising – it made horribly much sense. It was worse to watch beloved ones die than to die oneself. She would have laughed at the threat, even after that realisation – how could someone possibly think they were up to killing Cloud? - if it had not been Tseng who had uttered the threat.

In the same moment as she thought her anger was swarming up – how _dared _he? How _dared_ he to threaten her? - she realised that mingled with the mad anger, her heart rate had accelerated to an uprising warm sensation, speckled with guilt. It made her forgot to run after Tseng and demand satisfaction, for it told her that at least Tseng thought she must have hurt Rufus enough to issue it.

That made her feel horrible, her heart hammering in her chest. She had hurt him. He had not lied when he said he loved her. Why did she even care? For the love of Gaia, she should not! But it made her feel so strangely happy.

What made her feel sick was the blond, spiky head that was suddenly standing in the middle of the helicopter platform, just in front of the helicopter.

She cursed under her breath and was running in the same moment, pushed the door open and hurried down the stairs just to stop herself in the last moment before she stormed onto the deck. She could not just storm out there. Cloud would never forgive her if she took up Rufus' side, and Rufus would most likely order his Turks to waylay her if she dared to even hint that he could not deal with the situation. And judging by the words the wind was carrying over, it was perhaps even Cloud who needed the protection and by no means Rufus.

"Move along. You're in the way," Rufus was just cutting Cloud short before he could even get started, and did not seem to be very impressed by the fact that he was facing an almost ex-SOLDIER in full gear.

"You and I will talk," Cloud gave back, coolly. A cold with which Tifa would have been more then impressed before.

"If I want to talk to you, I'll have you come to me, now move along." Rufus sounded almost bored.

"Stay exactly where you are!" Cloud gave back and in the same moment, his sword flashed out, together with every other weapon on the platform. Tifa froze in her movement. Cloud was pointing his sword right at Rufus, and although it never truly showed with Cloud, she could just feel how angry he was – that he would take any reason now to start a fight.

The air was baking with heat that rose up from below.

Rufus, jacket blown open by the wind, was pointing his strange high tech gun directly at Cloud's head, a red dot dancing between Cloud's eyebrows, despite which Tifa knew Rufus stood not a chance in the world. "I see... I guess this means – again – we won't become friends any times soon."

She could see the hot wind tearing at Cloud's clothes, she could see Tseng standing not too far away, pointing another gun and the two Turks who were moving in Cloud's back. The wind was scorching, drying out her already dry mouth. She could feel her heart hammering, could not move. Cloud had to know by now that there were Turks in his back. That Tseng was not staying half in the shadows because he was afraid of Cloud. That Rufus was just talking to buy time. Her throat was tightening when she noticed how Tseng was holding Reeve back with the other hand. How, in this right hand, in the black glove, black metal was glittering. She realized that she almost hated Rufus for that scornful statement, those few words – that smirk – torn away by the wind. How could he even _dare _to fling that at them again, after all that had happened?

"You will listen to me," Cloud emphasised, pointing his sword. "Call your watch dogs back. And tell your Turk to put his gun away."

Rufus smirked, stored his gun away and took a short look over his shoulder. "Tseng. It looks like we are hopelessly out-gunned."

It looked like Tseng's arm relaxed and he put his pistol away. But in the same moment, Tifa noticed with a shudder that the Turk might have let go of his gun, but had closed his hand around something else. Around the gloved fingertips, the sparks of the Materia-light was dancing. He was still holding Reeve back with the other hand. Tifa was sure that it, too, was not as relaxed as it seemed. The other Turks had just stopped where they had been standing. She held her breath, not certain which side she would choose if it came to a fight. Protect Rufus and the Turks from Cloud or – or what? Help Cloud to show him that she was on his side?

"Now, you've got my attention. What do you want?"

"I know what you're up to! You can't deceive me, Rufus Shinra," Cloud gave back, hissed, nearly, but lowered his sword, too. "I will not let you use her! I will not have you play your games with her! You won't hurt her!"

Tifa froze in her movement. She had seen Cloud angry in his strange, subtle way, like a boy too shy to shout. But she had never supposed he could really look threatening with it. But now, in that burning wind from the desert, his eyes were almost aflame with the mako in them, and the broad sword was dangerously hanging in his hand. Still, Cloud would never kill an unarmed man. Even if it was Rufus Shinra. But Tseng's right hand was around another, hidden pistol. For a moment, strong aversion flooded her throat. _They_ would and she could almost understand why.

Her heart was hammering. Cloud was here to protect _her_.

"I beg your pardon – whom are you talking about?" Rufus' reply, condescending, let her almost step back. She wondered if Cloud even knew that Rufus' weapon of choice was his tongue, felt taken aback, hurt, almost that he indicated he did not know whom Cloud talked about.

"Tifa, of course, don't act like it!"

"Oh, _her_. My, you bothered to come all the way to tell me that? How positively boring! Do use your brain. What would I want with her?"

"Don't act like it, Rufus! I know you! All the crap she's been talking about 'responsibility for me! - You are just trying to wrap her up!"

"Is your opinion of her truly so low that you presume she would be unable to tell if I were? Now, just to stop you from wasting my time: She is of no use to me. She has no connections, no money, no property. She has no education, her style of dressing is embarrassing, and in twenty – maybe even fifteen – years her appeal will have sunk considerably. She as a bunch of noisy brats that aren't even hers. That leaves her brain. – Would _you_ court a woman for her brain, Cloud?"

Tifa almost choked on her breath. - How dared he? How could he even say such things? Rufus had said he loved her! In a moment in which she would have thought it even for him almost impossible to lie. In a moment of which she was not even sure he had been conscious enough to know he was talking. - Was Cloud right after all and it had been just games? She felt white hot fury rising, was furious about those words, furious about how hurt they made her feel – and at the same time at loss. Had she hurt him – no, hurt his _pride_ so much that this was truly what he felt? What, then, had Tseng's threat been about? Were those just lies? Or had he lied before and this was as true as it sounded? - Or was Cloud right who said that he just wanted to use her? Who was here to protect her from being used.

"I don't know if you've ever even truly _looked_ at Tifa, Rufus, but I tell you one thing: she won't fall for you. I won't allow you to use her just to clear your name! Or to have your final revenge on us because we stopped you! You almost had her _executed_! Don't think I'll ever let you come close to her! She is full of kindness and love and I won't allow you to pollute her with your schemes and lies. - Don't think that we don't know that your 'responsibility' is a lie. You just want Shin-Ra back the way it was before Meteor. But I won't allow you to draw Tifa into this. Not anyone good. You're just... you... I truly feel sorry for you that you survived. But don't think that means I won't put a stop to your evil-doings if I have to!"

Cloud stepped aside and Tifa could barely breath, her mind too confused with the thoughts that were mounting up inside her head. Rufus' insults, her own hammering heart, the anger she felt and the surprise that Cloud was actually here to stand up for her.

"_My_ evil-doings?" Rufus's voice was suddenly so quiet that it almost did not carry over. "Now, I am certainly guilty of doing great evil in the past. But whatever you say, I _acknowledge_ my responsibility and the responsibility my company has towards the planet and its people. _I _acknowledge my mistakes, and hope that I can, one day, make up for them. I _am_ sorry my company used the planet's life to produce energy. I _am_ sorry for all the people that died or were mutilated when my reactors blew up. I am sorry for Sephiroth. I'm sorry we couldn't stop him in time, I'm sorry for everyone who died from my company's hands and I'm blo... – _sorry_ for everything that happened! Now, get out of my way and mind your moping. I've got this planet to rebuild!"

Cloud just looked at Rufus for a short moment, half in passing him, looking unperturbed and unimpressed. "You should well be, you know. Exactly as sorry as you say. I would be. I hope you are."

Tifa's heart was still hammering to her throat, surprised by the flash of sudden anger Rufus had displayed, the burning viciousness in his voice.

The other Turks were already waiting at the helicopter and Tifa saw them disappear into the bright light while the first drops slashed down onto the roof through the dusty air. It was so hot that she had been sweating constantly, ever since she had stepped outside and the warm, dusty water came as no relief.

The rotors of the helicopter gathered up speed, their wind roared into her direction, and her mind was a muddle when Cloud walked down the steps from the platform and then towards the stair where she was waiting.

All she could do when he arrived was smile at him and answer almost automatically: "Thank you. Thank you for standing up for me like this!" It was a strange sensation to know that Cloud felt a need to protect her. That he was not only feeling betrayed by her but was truly worried about her and her safety. It made her slightly bitter to realise that he thought she was too stupid to notice that Rufus might just be playing games with her. It made her heart hammer that Cloud had stood up for her. Yet, Rufus' replies and her own behaviour tasted ever so bitterly on her tongue.

She stared after the helicopter that was leaving into the night dark sky. Dishonest man! Who knew which part of his words had been true. Which actions. Maybe, even he did not.

Cloud smiled at her. "Of course... Everything will be alright now. I don't think he'll be back and we don't need to fear him anymore and... I can never tell when he lies, either, so, don't worry anymore. It's okay you didn't notice."

Tifa felt her smile hardening, felt the old anger welling up inside her but tried to swallow it. Cloud had been here today because he thought it would deal with the situation. Because he thought flashing swords and sometimes threats at people always dealt with situations. Before, she was well aware, she would not have had anything to swallow down. She would have melted away with the idea that Cloud was trying to live up to his white-knight-promise.

Now, she did not know what to think – to feel – when Cloud slipped his arm around her and the helicopter disappeared into the dark sky while around them, the rain splashed in heavier and heavier drops onto the platform. She had gone back to Cloud because it had been perfect before, but also, because Cloud needed someone to help him to face the day – the new world, Aeris' death. Now, Cloud had proven that he was getting better. He stood up for her. He brought home money from package deliveries, not as sporadic as before. He was capable of protecting her so she could step down for once. Yet, it made her everything but happy. It felt as if she had tasted of a forbidden fruit once and could not get rid of the taste anymore. But, Rufus had been – everything that proved Cloud's accusation. His words had been horrible, had insulted her like she had rarely been insulted before – and that without using a single swearing word. - Or had he? Like in a bad dream she followed Cloud towards his bike. Had Rufus not said – if she supposed it were true that he loved her – did that not mean that he had just stated that he loved her _because_ of her 'brain' as he had put it – because she was thinking and talking back and – just herself, very much in spite of all the numerous disadvantages she sported? And if he said that her appeal would drop considerably – did that mean he was actually complimenting her on her looks now?

Screw that man and his idiotic double meanings!

She did not know if that was closer to the truth – if Rufus had been lying. She hoped so. She hoped it had not been a compliment in disguise.

But, she had a very ugly feeling, that for once, he had actually stated the truth. It embarrassed her deeply that to him, she looked nothing but tasteless and perhaps even blunt. It hurt so much and she had no idea why it hurt. Why she even gave a damn if Cloud was back and everything should have been perfect. Why she felt so entirely chilled by those half muttered words Rufus had told Cloud. Had they not rather been questions in disguise? Questions she had not, truly, dared to asked herself.

"Don't give a damn about what he said," Cloud muttered into her hair when Reeve had finally said good-bye to them. Poor Reeve! He looked positively harried! The situation must have been worst for him as the host. Tifa made a mental note to come and see him on the next day and tell him that... well, she was sorry for Cloud's 'horrible' behaviour. "You're beautiful just the way you are. He's just an ass. I mean, really! You'll still be beautiful in twenty years! He'll just look like his father, then!"

She smiled back, felt her heart rising with Cloud's care, the shadow of what had been before – a shadow she tried to embrace with her entire being, so she could forget about everything that had happened in the last few months and just return to their normal – happy – life. That world where things had been easy.

But his very words reminded her of Rufus' insults again and suddenly, she was angry. How dared he? How could he even tell her that he loved her if he did not like her appearance – that he liked her although she was nothing to him? That he even despised her for her choice of clothes, for her children, for everything! How could he be so pretentious? Or was he? Did he even care? He had not acted like it, not one bit. As if she were nothing but thin air, just another of Reeve's people and not even someone particularly suited for the job! Nothing but injured pride! If it had not been for Tseng's warning... Oh! Why had she taken on that job? Why could she not have just stayed with the bar? When had the bar suddenly stopped being enough – when had the situation at home become so insufferable that working on _Sulfur_ was better than that – they needed the money, yes – but she blushed at Rufus' knowing scorn when he had realised that she was working for , hateful man! As if he were the better choice – with all his selfish arrogance, his vengefulness so clearly displayed to Cloud and his callousness! All those lies! Oh, why had she chosen to work on _Sulfur_?She should have known that a meeting with Rufus would not be like she had pictured it – She had thought he would resent her deeply and had hoped that, at least, meeting him would give her a chance to _explain_. She had not thought that he would be too proud to show her that she had hurt him – if she even had – well, Tseng would not have told her to stay away from Rufus if he had not, at least, told the truth about his feelings. She had not thought it would be like this – that he would even refuse her friendship, that he would not even give her the tiniest _chance_ to explain. She had thought he would corner her, _demand_ an explanation – but that was beneath him, was it not? Arrogant bastard! Why did she even _care_ for his damn opinion? Why had she not stayed with her resolve to, well, have him hate her, so he would never stir up anything but shame inside her again?

The reply came all too readily: Cloud had returned but paradise had not ensured. She did not recognize him anymore. She did not need to encourage him anymore to go, deliver packages inside town. He just went and came back with money. He doubted her. He yelled back, not just accepted things. She saw him, but when he spoke, she did not recognise him anymore. He had not even excused for being gone so long. Usually, when he came back, she could at least wring a short excuse from him and a story of what had happened. But now... he had not said a single word. Journey had been 'okay'. The north had been 'a little cold'. He had not even gone to see Aeris' tomb. He claimed to have worked 'for an old woman in exchange for the vial'. Mixed herbs. He had been able to give an almost entire list of all the herbs included in the potion – Cloud had never bothered to memorize anything like formulas, not even for those few healing potions they could have cooked so easily throughout their journey. Had always said in his quiet and determined way: That's nonsense. We've got money, we can buy them. Or: we've got materia, that's all we need. He had never been the one who had believed in Avalanche's ideology as much as she, had always been more moderate...

What kind of mess had she gotten herself into? How had the world suddenly changed in such a horrible way? What was she going to do and – it just felt like everything was upside down. But there was no sign that the world had changed that drastically. Not another moon in the sky. Everything was like it had been before – only completely different.

Since when was she even interested in other, strange, mighty companies and took pleasure in finding out stuff about them? Being stealthy like a bloody Turk?

Reeve, too, had said that people around Rufus had the tendency to get hurt. It had sounded so horrible! - Had it been right, perhaps? They all had gotten so terribly hurt. Shin-Ra _always_ made you pay, nothing they gave was for free. But before she could figure why exactly that thought made her feel so very guilty, Cloud had turned the lights on inside her bar and her eyes fell onto the strange white piece of paper that was glued with duct tape to the refrigerator. It was Denzel's handwriting:

"_Please don't worry about us. We are OK and we weren't kidnaped. We will write you a letter soon. Please don't look for us, we will be back when you worked things out._

_Love, _

_Marlene _(Marlene's own handwriting here) _and Denzel"_

* * *

_Thank you very much for reading again._

_The next chapter will deal with Tseng again._

_Please review!_


	41. Wherein Tseng decides to test the water

_Please enjoy._

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Chapter 41: Tseng: Wherein Tseng decides it is time to test the water

_Tuesday (15. April)_

"Don't tell me it was stupid." Rufus was suddenly looking at Tseng through the darkness that was engulfing the inside of the helicopter not that the bright lights of Midgar had faded away behind them, the voice was interspersed with statics, familiar in Tseng's ear.

"I wasn't going to," Tseng replied. He was more concerned than angry, fearing for the repercussions that would ensue after that conversation with Cloud. That Reeve did not trust them was becoming more and more evident with every day that passed, and Tseng was rather afraid that he was waiting for an opportunity to drop them for whatever reason as soon as they had to cut their payments to WRO. Which would be soon.

"I lost my temper." Rufus was still leaning his chin onto the hand and the elbow onto the window sill, looking contemplative.

Tseng did not reply as he knew Rufus was aware he knew.

"Reeve won't take it kindly. Gaia... I'll have _grovel_ before him again. Maybe even make concessions."

"We are all exhausted."

Rufus sneered, staring out of the window again, chin still in hand. "That's no excuse."

Silence ensued for several moment, if such could be had in a dark helicopter roaring through the night.

"What did you tell her?"

"Whom?" Tseng tried to fake ignorance. But of course, Rufus would not ask if he had not noticed. Tseng felt tired after the long day, after the conversation, after the confrontation with Cloud. He had not felt truly reposed for weeks now, and he had been sleeping badly ever since the harbour had been attacked. There was no human who was immune to stress and with Shin-Ra in so much danger, the situation could not get much more strenuous, so it had only been a question of time until he would become restless again.

"Tifa, of course. Don't fake ignorance, it doesn't suit you." Rufus looked tired, too, even in the twilight of the helicopter's interior.

Tseng gave a sigh, massaged the connection between arm and artificial joint. It was becoming a habit quickly; the connection always hurt from too much exercise and the heavy prosthesis. Still, he was not doing it because it brought relief. Only to buy time. He was not sure whether it was wise to answer. He had not supposed Rufus had been – was still – so much in love with Tifa that he had even considered a long-term association with her. Maybe, Tseng thought, he should not have warned Tifa but put a bullet straight through her head. It had made him even more angry at her to hear how much Rufus had actually complimented her – involuntarily, most certainly, to scorn Cloud. Or that it were also those feelings that had set Rufus off. "I told her I would kill Cloud if she dares to hurt you again."

"My, you're a little over-protective, aren't you?"

"Am I?" Tseng doubted he was. Rufus still looked worn and he had looked almost harried after their conversation inside Reeve's office. His act of normality had been credible enough, though, and Tseng just knew how much self-control it had to require not to show much of the anger, the pain or the hurt love... well, also hurt pride, in Rufus' case.

"How _would _you kill Cloud? Hypothetically?" Rufus was looking straight at him now, a small smirk in his face and – curiosity. Trust Rufus to know if you were not issuing empty threats. The helicopter was jolting through the deep dark night around them, shaken by the wind and hit by the rain. Hopefully, this would not turn out to be a thunderstorm.

"Hypothetically indeed?"

Rufus raised an eyebrow. "Am I a murderer?"

Tseng did not bother to reply to that_. _"Cloud is trained for close combat. From a distance of over 250 m or 300 m, he should be helpless. If one were quick enough. I'd venture to guess that he would not even notice if one chooses the right direction and place at 500 m plus."

"Hm. Not my shooting distance." Rufus fell silent again.

Tseng looked at him for a moment, then turned his eyes towards the window again. The helicopter was rocking with the turbulence. He remembered that Elena was prone to be motion sick and wondered once again why she had chosen to become a Turk. Why he had not noticed those tender feelings for her for so long. Why it had taken him so long to acknowledge that they were, possibly, love. Even after this morning, he did not know how to deal with them. He had been so relieved when he had finally, one day, realised that he had stopped mourning Aeris, and that he did not love her anymore. That he, most likely, would never love anyone ever again.

He had been thankful for that.

And now, there was Elena, with hopefully anything but a silly crush.

"It _is_ rather cruel but very effective," Rufus suddenly remarked.

"What is?" Tseng, lost in his own thoughts. He would have liked to keep thinking of Elena and how gentle she was... how beautiful she always looked when a catastrophe was happening. In the moonlight, during the fire, even during Meteor. Strangely not on a daily basis. Or maybe, it was just when they were prone to die that he noticed? It could not be a crush. Nobody nursed a crush for – what? Over three years, possibly longer.

"Telling her that you would kill Cloud. How very evil to make _him_ pay for her mistakes... and her double. I have to say, I admire you." Rufus sneered. "My, I bet she won't ever dare to get close to me again!"

Tseng made no reply. The tone in Rufus' voice made it evident that he was very satisfied with what he had done and maybe even thankful. It was his job as a Turk and maybe also as Shin-Ra's new Vice President to protect Rufus from harm. That included psychological harm as well, and he would not let Tifa get close enough to Rufus again.

Had he been so cruel to Elena, too? Judging by the looks Tifa had given Rufus, she was well aware of the lack of attention she suddenly got. She had _also_ looked as if she was minding it, and it was that which had made Tseng act. If she had dropped Rufus like that the moment Cloud walked back into the room – how could she dare to expect further attention from him? Witch. He had never been aware – until lately – that Elena's interest was not – and had probably never been in his praise. Had been too engulfed in work, too engulfed in trying to protect Aeris, in trying not to think of her death or how she hated him – he wished he had had more self-control back than although what Rufus was doing could not be healthy, either. But emotions... he had always felt rather helpless in face of emotions. He did not even know what to do now. He knew he wanted Elena, her alabaster skin in the moonlight, shut her babbling mouth. He wanted to wake next to her again, this time not frantically checking for her pulse. He wanted to protect her from the moonlight – and feel protected from it himself, knowing her in his arms. He wanted – so much. Most of all, he wanted to know her safe and happy. Was that truly love? It had felt so very different with Aeris. There had been so much more anger, bright red, flaring anger and passion, while for Elena, he felt more in terms of soothing light … as if moonlight could be soothing and reassuring and warm again.

Tseng shook the thought off as the helicopter was shaken by yet another gust that swirled off into the dark. He did not like being confused. "What is your plan concerning the NG-patients?" He did not believe Rufus was really planning to build a trap. Or at least not just a trap.

Rufus lifted his shoulders. "I was rather thinking in terms of a spy. I'm sure if we are very careful about it, we can get one of the patients to spy for us."

"How so?"

"We will pay him for information, or rather: his family. We will pay well, and we will guarantee him that we will save him if he happens to get into trouble. Which we will if he does. The entire program. You know it better than I do. Furthermore, we will supply him with position devices and microphones. Without his knowledge, of course. Devices should thus be self-destructing."

"I can see why you did not tell Reeve." _Those _were surely methods they had used before, but now as illegal as it got, and it was not untypical of Rufus to suggest it without qualms. "This is very illegal nowadays, you are well aware, aren't you?"

"Don't be a simpleton, Tseng, of course I'm aware it's illegal. But do you have a better idea? We could, after all, use WRO devices."

Tseng sighed. "I'll think it through. But I suggest we should set up a trap nonetheless."

Rufus shrugged. "I was planning to, anyway. Maybe, we should focus on catching one of them, the next time they attack... If that's possible, anyway." He paused a moment, thinking. "How do you like their theory, by the way?"

"That _Sulfur_ is the new enemy?" Sometimes, Tseng enjoyed to willfully misunderstand Rufus' statements. He liked the impatient frown that stormed over Rufus' face and that did not fail him this time, either.

"Now, that would be most unpleasant, wouldn't it? I was talking about the general idea. That Cloud might have come into contact with a radical group in the north who are now on the Eastern Continent, wrecking havoc."

"Why would they come here all of a sudden?"

Rufus shrugged. "Vacation? Maybe, their preparations have been concluded? Maybe, though, Tifa isn't wrong and they came here because the riot changed something into a more convenient situation for them... Perhaps unbalanced us far enough that they think they can finish us now...?"

Tseng shook his head. "I don't think it makes much sense. From the attacks, it's evident that they are familiar with the places. Or have at least good intelligence about them. We originally created Sulfur almost one year ago, so, if Tifa were right about them, they would be familiar with the region and could help their friends. But we both know that _Sulfur_ can't be involved. I double checked before we turned it into the head of our decoy these two and a half weeks ago."

Rufus nodded a little. "I can't say I find her idea has many merits, either, even if it makes intriguingly much sense, but if – and I am emphasising the 'if' – Cloud came here after meeting that group up north and the same group starts bombing our buildings, the question I am asking myself is if that is not related. Cloud, for one, is familiar with the places around here."

Tseng studied Rufus for a moment. If he had been talking to someone else, he might have dismissed it as wishful thinking, but Rufus – Tseng was quite certain that Rufus was much too guarded than to openly indulge himself in wishful thinking. And it was not such a far fetched conclusion. If Cloud met a radical group up north – long enough to know that they were radical – returned, and they returned within the same week, even Tseng did not like that kind of coincident.

"Do we have any information where Strife has been by now?" Tseng asked, carefully and the question sent his thoughts back into the past. To the time when he had not set eyes on Elena, yet, to a time when the Turks had not been demolished by President Shinra because they had become too much of a power within his state. To a time before he had made a pact with Rufus, when the cards had not yet been dealt out – or at least, when they had not yet given away anything. To a time when Meteor had not even been known. When Rufus had been still locked into that tiny prison in Junon which he, Tseng, would have entered in the dead of the night to find Rufus illuminated by the blue light of all those screens. When he would have asked him 'Do you have any information about … whereabouts' and Rufus would have smirked and told him, yes, of course, and delivered, and Tseng would have – once again – known that what he was doing was dangerous and that his loyalties were most likely shifting.

Now, Rufus shook his head. "I haven't had time to search the intranet and it would have been quite a useless pursuit in any event. If you haven't made any inquires, we do not." He looked at Tseng, and Tseng felt him searching his eyes. "Do you think we should?"

"I don't like coincidences. I'm not saying Cloud supplies any terrorist group with intelligence. I think he's through with wanting to remove us. But if Tifa draws a connection, perhaps there's more to it. She must have heard all the stories about his journey by now."

"He doesn't seem quite the talkative type to me."

Tseng smiled a little. "But I think Tifa is curious."

Rufus replied the smile, just the twitch and without merriment. "Certainly." He looked out of his window again, then back at Tseng. The turbulences were lessening. "The question is: from where does she built up her theory? If she finds _Sulfur _suspicious and thus notices that the parents of a friend of a dead who-knows-what were from the Northern Continent where Cloud happened to run into a bevy of pseudo-militant tree-huggers, it's not of much use to us, is it? However, if it were other way around, if Cloud met radicals up North and hinted that they have connections to here – I fear you'll have to give her a call to find out."

Tseng inclined his head. "Tomorrow."

"Of course. I wasn't planning to work, either. Too late."

Tseng studied Rufus. In his opinion, and if he was not much mistaking, for Rufus, too, too much had happened and too much needed thinking. It would be a long night again, he feared.

"What will _you_ do, when you've returned?" Rufus asked, answering his gaze. He looked so very tired again and Tseng knew he had to look equally tired. At least, he felt equally tired. He massaged his arm again, just a little. The artificial hand was heavy on his thigh, but by now, he had mostly gotten use to the weight. Not to the pain, yet, but the weight was alright. "I wanted to go swimming."

"Swimming?" Rufus' eyebrows rose ever so slightly. "I thought you did not like swimming?"

Tseng realized that he had not seen Rufus flicking his hair for quite a while. As if all his superiority and arrogance where just a scheme that needed to be followed, without conviction behind it.

"And isn't your arm a little heavy, I beg your pardon... What about the weight?"

Tseng smiled a little. "Don't worry, the doctor advised me it might be a good idea to try swimming. The arm is not heavy enough to pull me down and it has floats inside."

"Hm. Well, they did assure me the difference would be just in looks, and I'd hate to have paid good money for inadequate results."

Tseng almost laughed. 'I hope you won't drown' seemingly could be voiced in a very complicated manner. "I won't drown. It is part of the rehabilitation program. The doctor said it might help to relax the strain on the muscles." Maybe, it would help, too, to sort thoughts far enough to get at least half a night of sleep.

Rufus gave a short nod and leaned back in his seat, looking exhausted.

"Do you want to join me?" Tseng asked after a moment.

"Not if your life isn't in immediate danger. Chlorine always bleaches my hair and it's just back to ginger."

Tseng hid a smile. Rufus rarely said so, but quite a few of his actions made it pretty obvious that he did not like to have anything untidy, dirty or disarrange any part of his appearance. He had been rather trying when they had finally been able to rest during the fire in Junon which had been worsened by the fact that he had buzzed with activity ever since they had gotten close to the first line of fire and seen how much needed to be taken care of... Elena had just recently told him that Rufus had made her burn some papers. While it was now clear that it had nothing to do with a fear of fire, it _was_ rather likely that the ultimate reason had been that burning paper resulted in soot, that soot was very light and that the headquarter in Junon was as draughty as the inside of a needle eye in a storm, thus resulting in soot stains on Rufus' clothes. On the other hand, chlorine was most likely just an excuse.

"You could use the training."

"I'd hope not."

"Hope isn't part of security."

"If I were to train for reasons of security, it would make the most sense to train swimming in clothes and I'm not going to ruin another perfectly good suit." Rufus sounded rather displeased with the notion while the helicopter was shaken by another gust of wind. Given, through the static, he could have also been half vexed, half bemused, but Tseng was too tired to listen that closely.

"So, what are you going to do instead?"

"Get the dust off my skin, go to sleep. Might do good to sleep a little." Another gust shook the helicopter. It was still rather warm inside. Rufus was looking outside now, tapping against the window with his fingernails. Tseng of course could not hear it, but he saw the motion, reflected in the glass. The windows had to be cold with the night by now.

"How are you and Elena getting along?" The question crackled through the static and suddenly, Rufus's eyes were on him again through the orange twilight the lamp above his head spread. Rufus was half looking at him, half facing away.

Tseng did not know what to make out of that question. He was not even sure who was asking. Was it his boss who wanted to know whether he was to expect problems? Was it Rufus, maybe angry about their association? Was it that strange type of friend Rufus sometimes remembered to be, the one of whom Tseng never was sure cared about how he did or was asking out of mere politeness?

Tseng too did not know the right answer to the question. "I don't know," he replied slowly. "We are moving somewhere. But I don't know where that is, yet."

Rufus stayed silent for a moment, staring out of the window, and suddenly took a deep breath: "If something is wrong, you'll say, won't you?"

Tseng studied the other man at the other side of the room, the uncaring manner in which he was looking at him now, the lack of emotion in the voice that yet betrayed how much he actually cared. About what? That he was functioning? That he was happy? It made him smile. "Yes. I would, thank you. But there's nothing wrong... I've liked many a girl before, this is – different."

"Different?" Rufus echoed, voice unreadable over the static. "How can it be different?"

Tseng shrugged. He had never believed he would actually talk to Rufus about something like this. He had never thought that Rufus would ever ask – care – even think about asking. He had never believed he would answer. "I can't say. I don't know what it's heading for."

Rufus suddenly smirked. "Aren't all love attachments heading into the same direction?"

Tseng shrugged. "You are hopelessly rational."

"Hn."

Whether that was a 'certainly', a 'perhaps so' or 'if you say so' or maybe even an 'one would think so' or a completely different notion was left to Tseng's interpretation again who did not like the sneer but noticed that both it and the answer lacked any malevolence.

"You would tell, too, wouldn't you?"

"Tell what?" Rufus raised an eyebrow into his direction and the ease with which it build up both irony and distance would have been almost shocking had Tseng been unacquainted with it.

"If something were wrong."

Rufus shrugged. "Certainly."

_Liar_, Tseng thought but did not reply, not even the smirk on Rufus' face that was nothing but tired. Tseng knew well enough what it was like to be in love with the enemy. Six years had taught him everything he had never wanted to know about rejection. And Rufus was looking even paler after this evening – after that encounter with Cloud that - however painful it would be to have it crushed again - Tseng knew could stir up hope. Would have, back than, if Tifa had been Aeris.

And that now of all times.

Rufus had opened a file with one hand and was trying to read under the dim light. He had fallen asleep over it half way from Junon to Edge and staring at the pages now, he did not look in any way rested. Tired and overworked, lines drawn deeply into his face. Just like Tseng felt himself.

Tseng asked himself how much resources they still had left to draw from. How long they could still keep running on like this without – without breaking down. Supersonic speed, without a pause. It was crazy and he knew it. Rufus knew that it was crazy. But the trouble was that presently, there was no way to pause. If they braked down now, everything would go to the dogs. If it had not been for the attacks, the creation of _Sulfur_ would have slowed them down a little, would have relieved him and most of all Rufus. The attacks just added to the pressure, with yet another problem to deal with before it dealt with them.

It did not even leave him time to figure out his own feelings regarding Elena. They were crashing down on him like the entire workload and somehow, somewhere, overwhelming him. He knew he was seeing Elena too little. That if he wanted to give his own feelings a chance – if he wanted to give the entire situation a chance – he had to be with her. But they fuelled him, too. Thinking of Elena, that he might be able to see her or maybe have lunch with her seemed to fuel his mind and take a little pressure off him. He asked himself what he was borrowing from and if he was not borrowing too much. He knew he was doing too little for his arm. That he was supposed to exercise it more. The pain he felt every day in the arm was more than enough proof of that.

And now, Tifa had been there at this meeting. As if Rufus did not have trouble enough already. Why could she not keep out of their way? Why could she not hole up with that Cloud she had chosen?

How much energy, after two years of ruin, abduction, Geostigma, New Geostigma and repeated ruin, did Rufus have left? What would happen if he ran out of fuel at full speed? What would happen to them all?

It was silent in the chopper and Tseng knew that both of them probably feared that moment most when no energy would be left anymore. When they had burned up and it still had not been enough to even save their all lives. He asked himself whether the 'L' in _Sulfur_ was one of Rufus' rather more cynic jokes. Whether it was short for 'loser'.

The file Rufus had been holding slipped to the floor and startled Tseng up. He had not noticed almost falling asleep. He bent forward, picked the file up and started rubbing his eyes to stay awake. He stopped almost in the same moment. What utter nonsense, to wake when Rufus was asleep. In a helicopter. As if he could not trust the pilot. As if Ba'al and Sandra were not trained well enough. He was only nominally still Head of the Turks. While he would still protect Rufus with his life, he was not walking solely at his side as his bodyguard anymore. As Vice President of Shin-Ra, Inc., he was entitled to a little sleep. Most of all when he did not have to fight for it. But only if he woke before the helicopter lowered itself into the region of murderers he could deal with from the inside of this helicopter.

Tseng woke when the helicopter hit the thermal front of the land masses again, only ten minutes from Junon. He felt strangely relaxed and rather well rested. Judging by the time they usually traveled, he must have slept about three hours. The storm that had been brewing around Midgar was long past and the flight was almost quiet now.

He stretched himself, then put his suit back into order. The lights of Junon were illuminating the horizon and slowly, the helicopter was loosing altitude. His arm was still hurting.

Reno's voice from the tower crackled in his ear that they were now arriving in Junon and that the landing might prove a little rocking as a strong wind was blowing in from the sea; that he had cleared the upper platform for them.

In the twilight of the helicopter's inside, Rufus stretched certainly as little as was still regarded polite in high society. It looked like almost nothing at all. The light of the town where shimmering into the helicopter now, illuminating everything from below, drawing the inside in harsh shadows, their faces into demonic masks.

The helicopter's noises increased as it lost more and more altitude, the buildings came clearer into view, the devastated harbour, no lights there. Tseng felt the pressure building up in his ears, waited a few moments until he cleared them. A gust of wind caught them just as they were about to land. The pilot reacted elegantly and almost in the same moment, the helicopter touched down softly, the noise of the rotors got less before it slowly died away.

Rufus got up and pushed the headset from his ears, gathered his things and gave Tseng a short nod who just took his own headset from his ears. As usually, the silence felt particularly deafening and the ears numb.

"If you dare to drown, I won't ever speak to you again."

Tseng replied with a smile. "Don't worry, Rufus."

The hatch opened and Rufus slid out into the bright floodlights, jacket blown open and hair ruffled by the harsh and cold breeze from the ocean. Sandra and Ba'al joined his back almost immediately.

Tseng waited another moment before he himself left the chopper. Reno was coming from the tower towards him through the bright light, jacket afly with the wind, grinning like a madman.

"Yo, Tseng, interesting evening, I heard, wasn't it?"

Tseng nodded at the younger Turk. "Yes, it was."

"Don't ever gets boring here!"

"I wish it would."

Reno suddenly looked serious, too. "Yes. We all could do with that. - I'm off duty now. Care to join Rude 'n' me for a drink?"

Tseng shook his head. "No alcohol for me tonight."

Reno nodded. "Pity. See you around."

Tseng gave a short nod and turned towards the building. Things had changed a lot in the last few weeks, ever since the Turks had, well, been reorganized. Reno and Rude only officially responsible for recruitment and the bodyguarding duties, Elena head of investigations and him – just nominal Head of the Turks who only coordinated what went on within and dealt with arising problems. Only, he doubted that problems would arise. Not with Reno and Rude and Elena in charge.

The wind was tearing at his far too short hair. He was not even sure whether he cared to have it long again; it was more convenient this way and if they were longer – he feared that they would entangle themselves in his prosthesis.

He stopped half way to his quarters in the empty corridors. He was not much in the mood to go swimming anymore although, certainly, it would do him good. He should have perhaps made an effort to persuade Rufus to join him.

Elena had said she was going to spent the evening in the common room. It was almost eleven o'clock at night now. He was not even sure whether she was still there. Nonetheless, he turned and walked towards the common room. The door was half open and a small island of light was pooling out into the corridor. Was it not way too draughty to leave the door open?

He hesitated before he entered. Elena was sitting in the only island of bright light in the room. She was wearing a jacket that looked like some fluffy animal's beaten fur, well worn and exceedingly comfortable. He knew she had sometimes worn that jacket in Healing Lodge, too. She was reading a book, had drawn her feet under her body, the blond hair falling half way into her face and she looked completely fascinated with whatever was going on between the pages. She was biting on the nail of her thumb, turned the pages with the other hand.

Tseng remembered that he had thought that, until now, she had never struck him as particularly beautiful, unless a catastrophe was happening around them. Now, he took the time to look for those signs. Her face had lost the rest of childish roundness over the last few years, and, yes, she did look beautiful. It was a subtle kind of beauty, but evident enough in the warm light.

He pushed the door open and entered the room, and Elena looked up puzzled, woken from her book but then smiled.

"Tseng! How are you? How was your conference? - Come, sit down! I still have some tea – would you like some tea?"

"If you still have tea, I'd gladly take some." He took a mug from the cupboard, felt the warmth of her words, her warm reaction to him spread inside. Since when had the Turks turned into a tea drinking department? Was it not yesterday that entire coffee plantations had had difficulties to cover the Turks' demand for coffee? "The conference was good. That is, until Cloud Strife turned up and threatened to kill Rufus."

"Oh? - What? - Why that? What has he done now?"

Tseng smiled and took the teapot from its seat to fill his mug. "Rufus? Nothing for a change." He sat down next to her and put his arm around the back of the couch where Elena was sitting which was rather uncomfortable because that meant he had to handle his mug with his prosthesis. "Well, at least not directly. I think Cloud and Tifa are having a difficult time because of Tifa's connection to Rufus."

Elena slid a little closer and he felt his mind growing positively fuzzy and weak when he let his arm slide from the couch onto her shoulders.

"That's sad. One would wish that if she behaves like, well, such a minx, it would be worth _something_." She snuggled closer to him and put her head against his shoulder and he smelled the faint military shampoo in her hair, felt his heart racing against his chest, her warmth against his side and asked himself if he had any right in the world to feel that implausibly happy.

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_Thank you very much again for reading._

_Next Chapter: Rufus: Wherein a spy reveals herself_

_Please review._


	42. Terrorists

_So, another chapter. A little longer this time, but I hope that'll make up a little for not posting in a while._

_Please enjoy._

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Chapter 42: Rufus: Wherein Terrorists Appear

_Tuesday/Wednesday 15/16. April_

It was warm in the bathroom, the vapour from the shower had condensed against the mirrors and wiping them had of course been useless. Rufus had thus opened the door to the bedroom so the mirrors would clear quicker, and through the broad soundproof window that made up the entire wall of the room, the lights of the town were shining into the room and drawing deep shadows onto the soft white carpet and the light parquet.

He was tired. Tired enough for the eyes to be hurting. He had planned to work in the helicopter, but having had little sleep over the last few days, sleeping might have been the better choice. On the way back, he had slept to avoid thinking. But showering was not intellectual challenging enough to chase away thoughts. Nor was brushing one's hair, not to mention one's teeth. So, thoughts were clawing their way into his mind as they always had ever since he could remember.

Judging by his confrontation with Cloud today, Tifa and Cloud were having major issues. Of course, already the fact that Tifa had chosen to work for WRO and do research on _Sulfur_had given that away. Cloud's accusations made it most likely that Tifa's and his connection were subject of the arguments. And that, most interestingly, Tifa did not seem to be backing down.

Still, he should not have flown into a passion. Certainly not hurled those badly disguised accusations at Cloud. That reaction had been nothing short of pathetic. He hated Tifa for being reason to it.

He put the brush back into the sideboard, caught the razor before it fell. He felt his heart doing strange things at the thought of Tifa and called himself a fool. What was it to him if they were having issues? Tifa could not have made it clearer that she thought him less eligible than Cloud.

Not even worth the effort to give an explanation.

She certainly would be nothing short of enraged when his words from today reached her. Even if they had been true. Well, apart from the fact that he actually did not mind the children _that_ much. Not that it mattered.

He put the brush back into the closet and spread toothpaste on the toothbrush.

He was well aware that he was not very eligible to Tifa. While he might have been rather handsome, rich and even nowadays still influential, their views of the world differed completely. For Tifa, almost everyone on this planet was a good person whom only circumstances rendered into a bad one. For him, nobody was either good or bad, only perspective made them so. She had – high morals, thought highly of human life and of almost everyone. His morals could be called indifferent at best. The only people in the world he truly cared about were his Turks. The rest was nothing more than just that.

For her, love and happiness were the most important things in life. For him, it had always been Shin-Ra. For her, love seemed to be something magical where heaven met earth, where everything turned into the state it had been meant to be in.

For him, love had nothing to do with magic.

Of course, he had been stupid enough to fall in love with Tifa, but that did not mean he was unaware of the reasons. Love, after all, was not only a matter of suiting genetic potential, but even more so of the likelihood for offspring to survive. Whether one was planning on brats or not.

Tifa had a strong mind and was smart. Both were attributes he held in high esteem because a sensible person was much less trouble then a dunderhead who would fall for his money and put nonsense into children's heads. Also, he required people he could respect and most people he only respected if he was not able to outsmart them straight away. If he needed morons to feel superior to, he could buy them in scores and they would all tell him how great he was. Tifa told him to his face what she thought about him. She was not one of those silly damsels who demanded constant attention. She was very capable of fighting which given that quite a few people wanted him dead, increased the chances of survival for hypothetical offspring drastically. Increasing _his_ chances of survival, too. Tseng would actually like that. Most of all, Shin-Ra had a very bad reputation and nobody believed that he truly wanted to rebuild the world and make it a better place and not return to old times. If Tifa on the other hand were to choose him – she who had saved the world from destruction and was a known ex-underground fighter against Shin-Ra – people's opinion of him and his intentions to help everyone would drastically increase and thus chances of survival.

Knowing about the mechanisms and reasons, however, did not reduce the emotion in itself, nor feeling incredibly hurt, empty and unhappy.

The more because being refused by Tifa actually proved his point that she did not feel the need to agree with everything he said.

He washed the toothpaste away, cleaned the brush and put it back into the shelf before he washed his face again. Then, he turned from the bath to the room, picked up his jacket to hang it away, thought differently of it as he stepped into the room and put it onto the counter that separated the living-room from the small corridor. Someone, long before he had chosen this flat, had torn away the wall that had separated the living-room from the corridor and the bed-room from the living-room. All that remained of the former wall was the counter, a brace and the very small anteroom that led into the now huge and barely furnished single room, the latter one being the reason why he had chosen this flat of all.

He had gone through every situation, asking himself what on Gaia he could have done differently to – well, have had Tifa come to a different decision, what he could have done differently without loosing face. He had done some much wrong. So much which he was not even capable of doing otherwise.

He had hoped that he would never see her again now that she had decided for that stupid fool Cloud. He had been angry enough to put a bullet through her head that she had not even had the decency to explain her actions. He had been resolved not to think of it ever again. Never to forgive her.

And then, tonight, she had just needed to appear and every resolve had evaporated like ether in the sun. He should not have asked Reeve why he let Tifa work on _Sulfur_ for, then, Reeve would have never mentioned aside that love was also about responsibility and that, even after the love was gone, responsibility still prevailed.

He knew that Reeve had _not_ been talking about Tifa and Cloud, but about himself. He would have been a fool not to notice that Reeve had had a certain interest in Tifa, too. Because, he supposed, Reeve would have liked a strong woman whose orders he could follow because that rid him of the decision if what he was doing was actually right.

Still, one stupid sentence had made him hope. It was – so very silly. So very inane.

Just for making him think such utterly stupid nonsense – for screwing with his thoughts just by entering a room – he would have very much loved to put a gun to her head and pull the trigger. It was exceedingly vexing to realise that feelings had the impertinence of being stronger than every good reasoning.

Why now? Why did she actually have to return now?

He turned towards the bed, vexed with the proceedings of the entire day, when he remembered that he had not had supper, yet. He had only eaten a little before they had departed for Edge and Reeve had not offered supper.

For a moment, he felt very much tempted to ignore the biting in his stomach which would, in good time, go away. He just wanted to go to sleep, was in no mood to eat on top of everything else. Still, Tseng had told him often enough that he should eat more, and he was well aware that while quite a few others – Elena, for example, Rude certainly, too, - tended to eat more under stress, his body reacted with a rather unhealthy reduction of hunger and appetite.

He stared at the town below him and after a few moments gave in to reason which told him that, if he truly wanted to recreated, he needed to eat before he went to sleep. He could also read a little while eating. Perhaps, that would give his mind a little rest.

So, he placed a call with the kitchen for some sandwiches and spent the time before they arrived with redressing, trying very hard not to think about what had happened today and how lucky he could fancy himself Tifa had not been listening – no, wrong, how lucky he would have been if she had been listening for that would get her from ever approaching him in a friendly way again.

He stared down at the town, a helicopter that was far away settling down, the dark huge patch where the harbour had once been, the tickling lights, fewer and fewer at this hour, of the ever busy town, his half reflection in the window. He would have preferred not to dress, but it would not have done to be wearing nothing more than just a towel when the food came. Now, the suit would get some wrinkles before he even put it on tomorrow.

He should not worry Tseng quite as much as he presently did. Gaia, he still so hated to see that metal hand.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in." He raised his voice but still stayed turned to the window. Between the lights and the glass, he studied the soft carpet only illuminated by the spotlights that threw their lights on the façade, the white counter with the whitewashed wall behind it, the scraps of those few pieces of furniture, and in between his own form, just a shadow although in pristine, sunk almost up to the naked ankles in the fleecy carpet.

"Good evening, Mr President..."

He did not turn, heard her moving into the room. "Good evening. Place the tray on the counter, if you please," he told her over his shoulder without looking. He was in no mood to be asked about anything, whatever that servant supposed was polite conversation and kept staring onto the town. It was too dark to see her reflection in the window. It was only her shadow that was sometimes – whenever she moved into the light – danced on the reflection of white washed wall.

"Yes, Sir," she replied. He heard how she placed the tablet on the counter. "I will prepare the tea...?"

"Do." Her shadow was now clearly on the wall, he watched it bow over the teapot, heard the water streaming into the pot, saw a helicopter closing in – quickly closing – racing towards the building, the wind shaking it. He could almost hear it howling through the soundproof glass. The whiff of fresh food caught his attention, he notice how hungry he was, something flickered in the window, the tea pot rattled. His eyes searched the source of the flicker, but it was not in town. He still felt that slow behind him, caught her shadow on the wall, her form invisible in the window. His eyes fell onto the strange, almost transparent thing in her shadow's hand which he would have thought to be a piece of glass if it had not been formed conical, pointed sharp at both ends, almost hidden behind her back, behind her leg, growing longer and thicker.

The whiff of musky fear that hit him was suddenly so strong that he felt it creeping down his back. He saw her shadow moving closer, not a sound on the downy carpet, not a reflection in the window, just the shadow on the wall with that strange, transparent thing in its hand. A drop of water seemed to fall from its top and she was almost there and in the same moment the rising fear evaporated to nothing and the room was still.

His pistol lay in its holder on the counter, another reflection in the window.

One step, two steps, her form started to shimmer in the window behind him. The shadow raised that thing. An icicle, now pointed as a blade.

In the same moment, he turned, gathered speed, knew she saw the movement, his foot slipped on the carpet, the icicle missed him by millimeters as he turned the spin into a kick, the back of his foot met something very hard, he lost his balance with the spin, stumbled backwards, hit with his back into the window, the icicle shattered against the soundproof glass, splinters flying into every direction. He turned his stumble into a dart for the pistol on the counter, saw the woman still falling. His foot hurt and he felt that fright engulfing him again.

The woman had caught herself, there was blood in her face, she was picking herself up, hands raised towards him and he smelled the musky fear in the air. He grabbed the teapot, not yet close enough to his gun, accelerated its hot content towards her face and grabbed the heavy pistol on the counter as she screamed in pain, tore it from its holster and pointed it, flicking of the safety.

"Now, stay exactly where you are," he hissed. He felt something hot on his throat, threatening its way down into his collar. He would have liked to pull the trigger now, just a few times, but refrained which had certainly nothing to do with Tifa at all; they just needed to question her thoroughly.

The girl had almost violet eyes of an astonishing beauty, her dark hair falling in messy curls into her bloodied face. Her nose was broken and her eyes flared with hate and pain, the white spots of New Geostigma covered her hands.

He felt with his other hand for his mobile, felt the adrenaline hammering inside him, the fear of _what_ she was obviously capable of, tried to keep the gun steady.

"What now, Mr President?" the woman asked. Her accent was foreign, there was no fright in it, just scorn. He tried to place it as he flicked open his mobile, his gun still pointed. The warmth had reached his collarbone, spreading there quickly, running along it, he felt it pooling between both bones before it threatened its way down his chest. The girl was blinking against the tea, had covered the face and seemed to be in quite some pain to get it out of her face. "Will you _kill_ me?"

Right, her accent placed her in the Gongaga area. Blown up Mako-reactor. Tseng was not picking up. The telephone had already given two rings. Was she trying to cast another spell already? She was certainly shifting herself to get up again, to attack, there was the faint smell of fear again. He willed himself to smirk, did not know why he was so thoroughly afraid. "Why is it you people always think death is the worst thing that can happen to you?"

A third ring and still no answer. He felt fear sizzling in the air, in his head, saw something glittering that was forming next to her hand. "Don't do that. I would hate to fry you bit by bit... it's so bad for the carpet, you see?" In this light, she had to see the white blotch that was spreading down from just below the line of his collar. If he told her, she would most likely assumed that he was capable of controlling his fear as she seemed to be able to manipulate that materia inside her. Even the idea that there might be a mechanism of control made him sick with fear.

She almost laughed, now blinking again, had shifted her balance almost entirely now. "You? Come on! You had just the stolen vial. You can't do anything!"

A fourth ring and he just felt the fear sizzling in the air, saw her stirring. Her eyes were not on him anymore. They were on something behind him. He did not hesitate a second. Leave the questioning to Tseng and the Turks. Even in the window, he could not see the icicles she had to be preparing to try and kill him again. He had to be quick – hoped he still was quick enough, flipped the gun in his hands. Simultaneously, she was on her legs again, darting towards him, blinking icicles between her fingers, and he rammed the barrel into her face, her hot breath against his cheek when she cried out in pain which gave him the minute to swing – how very undignifying - the gun's bud against her head, the mobile slipped from his hand with the impact, metal crashed against bone. He heard the sickly crunching, heard her scream again, the cold ice brushed his face and he kicked his knee into her face, heard and felt the sickly wet breaking, felt a second icicle racing against his side, dug his elbow into her nape, fell with her weight, his face hitting into the fleecy warm fabric of the carpet, hammered the muzzle into her head, breath coming in heavy puffs, his elbow and knee hurting.

"_This__is__Tseng__of__the__Turks's__mobile__phone.__I__am__currently__not__available.__Please__leave__a__message__after__the__ring__tone.__I__will__call__you__back__as__soon__as__possible,__"_ Tseng's voice was coming vaguely from his phone.

Rufus felt his heart almost dying in his chest, breathing into the soft, inclement carpet. Not available. His Turk was not available to save his life. He felt himself shivering, suddenly feeling helpless. Angry. How dared Tseng not to pick up?

The woman was not moving anymore. He pushed his hand into the white carpet, heard the tone from Tseng's message box, pushed himself up, trying to keep the muzzle still on the woman, felt pain in his chest, the heat on the side of his neck that was again blazing a trail down his throat, the cold heat it had left on his stomach, the wetness the icicle that had dug into his clothes left as it melted. He struggled from under the body, struggled up, felt for the woman's carotid, repulsed by the bloody mess that posed as her face.

She was still alive.

He picked up the phone, withdrew backwards, against the counter, sat against it, felt the heavy breaths in his throat.

"Tseng?" he pushed the phone against his ear. "You might want to come. I've got an assassin on my carpet."

He closed the phone with his hand, silence engulfing him all of a sudden. The tea was seeping into the carpet. A few meters further, icicles, dropped from the midair and most likely intended to kill him, were doing the same Some were sticking out of the wall. He felt the heat that was running down the jugular notch over the sternum, the numb pain at the side of his throat, the much more profound pain on his foot where the skin had split when he had kicked his opponent, the pain in his knee which was bloody from the woman's face, the seeping wet the icicle at his left side. He reached for it to cool his knee, pointing the pistol still at the woman, feeling profoundly tired. He supposed his throat was bleeding, but presently, he had no handkerchief to see to it, and he did not trust the ice far enough to bring it into contact with a wound although it might have stilled the blood flow which was not enough to be worried at any account.

Neither did he want to get up before the Turks arrived in case the woman woke again. If he kept his head still, the blood flow would staunch itself in good time. He hoped nothing had happened to Tseng. He had not looked as if he was going to do lots of swimming, so why had he not picked up? He should have long been finished...

He studied the carpet. There were bloody imprints were he had been lying, the bloody imprint of the woman's face and quite a bit of ice, all of it soaking into the white material. The Turks had told him once or twice that blood-traces were hellishly difficult to remove.

His throat was throbbing and he fished for his phone again, this time calling up Reno's number. But the Turk's telephone was turned off completely.

He felt cold, left alone, realised his fingers were bloody from feeling his neck when he called up Elena's number. Knowing Elena, she was fast asleep already. But knowing her, too, she would not have put out her mobile.

"Yes?... I mean, this is Elena of the Turks, good evening?" Elena muttered into his ear.

"It is I." He felt strangely relieved by her reply. "Sent a team of Turks to my room, will you?"

"What?" Suddenly, Elena was all wakefulness and her yell even hurt in his ear. "What happened, Shachou?"

"Nothing exceedingly out of order. Do also get Tseng. He should be in the pool area."

"Oh, okay?... Uh, Tseng's here, we'll be there in a moment, Shachou!"

"Whatever." He snapped his phone close and felt strangely let down. So, Tseng had been with Elena, hn? And had not even felt it was necessary to pick up his phone, hn? That stupid girl with her dimpled smile!

_She_ used to say that as long as they walked away alive, they won. _Tseng_ had quoted that to him.

This did not feel much like winning to him.

Those bastards were trying to take his company, his life. They were blowing up his towns and collapsing his buildings. They were trying to kill his Head-Turk and stealing his papers. They were destroying everything he lived for. He did not know whether he would manage to ever built up what they destroyed. Did not know whether he would even manage to pick himself up.

He was hungry, he was tired, he was breathing. Being alive was like spitting into their faces.

It did not feel like it. Not as all. As much as he tried. It felt very much more like crying.

The door opened and he heard steps.

"Rufus?" He heard Tseng's voice and felt his heart strangely quickening at that. With anger, with that strange sensation of relief. Since when, actually, was he worrying about people? That was all Tifa's fault!

"I'm here," he said, getting up, still pointing the gun at the woman, and seated himself on the low counter. He did not turn his head, mistrusting the woman profoundly. "Good to hear you haven't drowned."

He heard Tseng stop in his steps. "Wha – what's that? Are you hurt?"

"Not fatally. She tried to kill me."

Tseng surrounded the counter, as quickly as maybe humanly possible. "Is she dead?"

"Do you think I'd still be pointing guns at her if she were?"

"What happened to your throat?" Tseng came towards him, signaling to a horde of other Turks to come in. His bodyguard's metallic touch was cold against his skin and Rufus almost pulled back. He did not like being touched; he never knew how to react to it. And he was still rather annoyed that Tseng had not picked up his phone.

"Do you need a healing potion, Sir?" A doctor had appeared next to them, holding a small vial into their direction,

"You should rather use it on her," Rufus nodded into the direction of the woman which of course was not a good idea for the wound.

"Yes, thank you," Tseng took the tiny vial from the man before he turned back to him: "Hold still, you'll tear it open again." In the same moment, Rufus felt the Turk's other hand slipping into the back of his nape which truly made him want to draw back, especially because it was warm and soft and caring and detained his head from moving anywhere.

"Take your hand off!"

He almost hissed in pain when Tseng applied the potion to the wound and just about simultaneously, Tseng had removed his hand again, and nodded into the direction of the woman's body, whose injuries would take quite a few potions to heal. "Who is she, and what exactly happened to her face?"

"One of the servants. I thought it might be a good idea to catch her alive. She seemed to be one of the NGPs."

They were carrying the body out of the room and Rufus stared at the messy carpet. He wished he had gone to bed straight away.

Tseng gave a small nodded. He looked worried. "I'm sorry I didn't pick up."

Rufus shrugged, trying to hold his head still, did not reply. He did not want to appear jealous. It just would not do. "Doesn't matter." He stayed seated on the counter, staring out at the town. The door was closing behind the horde of Turks who had all failed to put out their boots.

Tseng turned to the window, equally staring at the town, hand on the window which would leave messy hand prints. After a moment, he turned back around, just his head, the black pony-tail almost lying on the back of his suit that was wrinkled for once. "Rufus, we'll deal with this. Your father couldn't kill us, Meteor certainly didn't, and even Deep Ground and Kadaj failed to. By now, we are experts in survival. They can't wear us down."

"The way you say it, I almost feel sorry for them." Rufus gave back tiredly. He would have liked to go to bed now, but the Turk's presence was so very reassuring.

"If she really is a NG-patient," Tseng said after another few moments – after Rufus had almost drifted asleep against the wall, "it was a very good idea to catch her. However reckless."

Rufus felt strangely offended by Tseng's words. He had actually tried not to be reckless. "Well, I thought it would be plainly stupid to kill her."

"Your security has uppermost priority, Rufus. I told you."

"Whatever. At least, this way, we'll find out why she knew about the vial. She called it 'stolen', and I'm pretty sure she knew what it did." The blood was clotting between the layers of clothing. He hated that feeling.

Tseng shook his head. "No, not whatever. If someone comes to kill you, you have to kill him first. If we are around, you can order us to take prisoners, but you must not risk your life."

"Well, I'm fine, am I not?"

Tseng turned around from the window, his smooth face distorted with anger. "Do you even know how closely she missed you carotid? You would have bleed to death within moments! I'm sick of you always risking your life because you _think_ it's worth the risk. It bloody isn't! Maybe you live today, but when you die, what are we going to do with that feeble prisoner, hn? How is it going to help us? Who will run Shin-Ra? What'll be with _Sulfur_, with everything? - What is to become of us Turks? Do you think we want to bury you?"

"I calculated the risk, it was bloody not that dangerous!"

"No, Rufus, you can't calculate the risk. You're not a _trained_ Turk! You don't know enough about fighting to be able to estimate the risk!"

"It's still my life to risk and if I find it worth it..."

"No, it's not! It's not your life to risk! It's not your life to burn! You've got a bloody company, you've got us, you aren't just replaceable!"

Rufus stopped in his movement – which had been going over to the bathroom to at least wash the blood from his hands. Tseng's comment that he was no Turk had hit him deeper than he wanted to admit, even if the Turk had emphasised the 'trained'_._ "Now, tell me, who's been the one who told me – for _years_ that I must not arbitrarily risk Turk-lives because all lives are equal? Are some lives more equal than others? Even more equal than Turks' lives, perhaps? Was I perhaps mistaken when I thought that, maybe, I should not play around with Turks' lives?"

"Your life is certainly not less equal than any other life, but you never understood my point!" Tseng shot back. "You can't just risk your life! Maybe it's important that we find out whose behind the attacks, but do you think Shin-Ra would take another breath if you were lying dead on this carpet? - No, you don't, you're just too bloody selfish! All that's important for _you_ is if your plans work and if they don't – so, ho! You won't give a damn because you'd be bloody dead anyway and you think things are done with that!"

Rufus glared at him, the black hair that was reflecting the town's even fewer lights, the red anger in the man's face. He felt himself going completely cold with Tseng's words. "You're just trying to gloss over that you were too busy snogging Elena to pick up your phone and do your job." The moment he said it he knew he should have never uttered these words, but Tseng was already staring at him, and he could see that cold freezing the man's face, the ponytail still bobbing from the movement in which Tseng had brought his head around.

Silence filled the room, the town's lights were glossing below them.

Tseng gave a sharp shake of his head. "Sometimes, I don't know why I still bother fighting on your side."

Rufus sneered, cold with the pain the words left behind. "That's because you've got no where else to go."

Tseng glared at him and he knew he glared back, tried not to let any of his feelings show. "Reeve offered quite a bit more money than you are paying."

"Well, why didn't you take it, then?"

"You know why." Tseng gave a short nod. There was regret in his eyes which pained Rufus the more for he was not sure whether Tseng was not regretting that he had not taken up Reeve's offer. "Good night."

"Good night," Rufus heard himself replying, felt his eyes hurt as he stared at Tseng, turning away as the Turk started walking away. His eyes were burning as he turned around to the bathroom, angrily. How stupid. Why did he have to argue with Tseng? Why now? And about such a thing! He _knew_ Ts,eng was right – in principle. S right that he had cost him his arm, and still, Tseng had stayed. But tonight, he had really thought that he had not behaved recklessly, that it had been reasonable. That Tseng would not find much to disapprove of.

He felt the Turk brush by. Tseng had not even picked up his phone. Well, of course, he was not on duty and... well, he had no right to demand 24 h service of Tseng, but still. And Tseng had said he was no Turk. He knew he had only scratches of the training – how little had been painfully obvious when he had lost his balance kicking that attacker. But still – the Turks were... well, those four were maybe the only people he cared for on this planet and he had always thought himself part of them. There was not anything more hurtful Tseng could have said then making a separation between him and them, however true it was. He still should not have said anything concerning Elena. It had had nothing – well, almost nothing – to do with the matter. Just because he was angry and disappointed and hurt, he should not take it out on Tseng. Not on Tseng of all people.

He caught the metal of Tseng's arm in his hand when he turned, felt the coldness, the jerk as it stopped Tseng in his movement, hesitated even then to speak.

"I shouldn't snap at you. It's... I really thought I wasn't reckless." He hesitated another moment, hated to be apologizing, knew that he had to. That he should have said these words long ago. He turned and put his other hand onto the back of Tseng's metal that made him feel uneasy every time he saw it. "I'm sorry I doubted you and … I'm sorry I gave you this. I … - well, I am truly sorry that I got you shot and burned your arm off."

Tseng was silent for a moment. Then, Rufus felt the other man's hand on his shoulder. "Just be more careful, Rufus. We need you."

Rufus gave a short nod, his eyes hurting. "Good night."

"Good night."

The warmth of Tseng's grip disappeared and he watched the Turk closing the door behind himself, quietly. Love was really a strange thing. How could it be so different for two persons? How could he want Tifa with such a ferocity and abhor Tseng's touch? Why was Tifa wiping his mind and why was he willing to leave her to death if she refused him, if, on the other hand, Tseng had never done anything strange to his mind, but he would not leave him back for anything in this world? He had never thought of his feelings for Tseng as a liability. And was he really that selfish? He had saved Tseng's life, after all... well, as if that had not been selfish.

And otherwise? He could not think about another thing he had not been selfish about.

Was that perhaps why Tifa had preferred Cloud to him? He pressed both hands against the eyeballs, felt cold. Not again that train of thoughts! He rubbed his eyes, turned to the bathroom, felt just bored by the thoughts that were mounting up in his head. He was tired. Tired of it all. Tired of all the struggle, tired to see it all destroyed within few weeks. Tired of seeing his home taken from him again and again and again. Tired of attacks on his life, tired of always being the bad one. Tired of all those arguments. He was so tired of thinking, that his brain always spun those endless cords without arriving anyway, always doubting everything. Always, always, always making up new plans. Tired of feeling too much and tired of trying not to feel anything at all. Tired of being afraid of everything, of New Geostigma. Tired of fighting.

He did not even know if there was a light up ahead. The hand in front of his face was wet.

He did not know what to do, how to conquer this. How to even _survive_ it.

If we walk away, we win. It did not feel like winning.

But when he woke, he would deal with this. Not because it needed dealing with. He knew he had barely any strength left to keep Shin-Ra running. Not because he dealt with things. One only dealt with things if one had strength left to deal with them, which he did not. He would deal with it because otherwise, he and most of all his Turks were dead meat.

As much as he hated Elena and her dimple smile for taking Tseng away.

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_It might take a while until I'll post the next chapter, since, at the moment, I'm not terribly motivated since I'm not really satisfied with what I've planned for the following chapters and since I've got a lot on my plate presently._

_Anyhow, I hope you enjoyed nonetheless._

_Please review._


	43. A Stolen Vial

_Thank you for all of your wonderful reviews again! It's been a pleasure to read them and they really got me motivated to write on – even if, due to university and the reluctance of my muse – it took me until now to finish this chapter._

_This chapter is mainly addressing the stolen vial and its circumstances._

_I hope you will enjoy._

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Chapter 43: Elena: A Stolen Vial

_16. April, Wednesday_

Elena was still shocked. It was not that Rufus looked particularly bad (not that he looked very well, either); he would live even if it had been a rather close call. It was also not because Rufus had almost been killed by an icicle (lots of people had and quite a few by materia icicles) but that one of the Shin-Ra employees had tried to kill him, serving him with poisoned food on top. That just... could not be. War, terrorists, had always been so far away. Not – not directly in their living quarters.

Tseng, of course, was furious.

Elena was just shocked. They had not found out anything about this group of terrorists, yet, and the terrorists had almost managed to murder Rufus while they had been completely unprepared and helpless to react... well, almost helpless. They did not even know whom that woman had been in contact with. Rufus had been so thorough with knocking her unconscious that she was not likely to wake for quite a few days – especially because she was only reacting marginally to materia... Maybe, if anything, the little radio in her room would give up a little about the people she had been in contact with. Or, maybe, they would be able to solve that book she had been keeping in code.

At least, the woman was still alive, even with quite a severe concussion. Hopefully, they would be able to interview her soon enough.

Rufus had barely said anything this morning, only looked even paler than over the last few days. His throat sported a new, ugly potion scar that would certainly fade in the next few days. It must have been a close call, indeed. No wonder Tseng was in such a bad mood and so very downcast.

Elena was worried. Both about Rufus and Tseng. Both of them were working ever so furiously and even she who did not work almost as much felt dead tired on her feet when she ended work in the evening.

Just like the night before. When she had been sitting in the common room and had tried not to fall asleep over a book and suddenly, Tseng had been there. She still could not believe, still thought it a dream, that he had actually put his arm around her and that she had been stupid enough to fall asleep against his shoulder when there had been so many questions she wanted to ask.

How she had awoken from the ring of Tseng's phone and how Tseng had turned out his mobile, saying that, even if Rufus thought he needed to work the night through, he was welcome to, but Tseng certainly did not need to.

How her own mobile had rung only moments later and she had picked up, automatically, almost falling from the couch in shock. The guilt on Tseng's face still hurt her when she only thought about it.

How Tseng had heard her message only moments later, and the entire evening dissolved into chaos. Now, Elena was just happy to close the door to her office and shut out all the craziness on the other side. All the craziness that had invaded her life.

Craziness that included falling asleep against Tseng's warm chest, hearing him breath so close to her ear, feeling him so close, his arm around her, how he had laid his head against hers... how she had never felt so secure and happy before.

She could not stop smiling when she stared at the computer screen. Despite everything horrible that had happened – despite the fact that they had invaded the building and almost killed Rufus, despite that her heart was hammering with mad happiness.

The telephone rang and dreamily, she picked it up.

"Elena of the Turks?" she replied.

"Yo, Reno _of__the__Turks_ – honestly, Sis! Do you still use _that_to answer the phone? Gaia, when will you stop being a rookie?"

"Reno...," she gave a sigh. "What do you want?"

"We're meetin' in the common room in half an hour!"

"I'm sorry, I think I don't..."

"Nar, it's not for fun, though I wish we would meet for fun again, 't's 'bout everything. Shachou, the terrorists, y' know?"

"Oh! Well, yes, I'll be there, of course! Good idea! - Is, um – do you know, is Shachou any better?"

"Terrorists ain't killed 'm, he'll be as good as can be, me thinks... well, as good as the circumstances, anyway. It's just so... fucked up. First Meteor, then them silly Geostigma-doctors, Geostigma, Kadaj, Deep Ground... NG and now the terrorists... I mean, it just feels like we keep f***in up..."

"Yeah, I know," Elena whispered back. "Do you think it will get any better?"

"Any time soon?"

"Well... any when would be a start..."

Reno sniggered. "At least if it comes before we've all gone crazy! No, you ask me, there's a quid for every quod. - So, you comin'?"

Elena nodded. "Sure thing!"

"Great. She ya!"

The phone went dead on her and she stared at it. Reno was right. It was like a maelstrom their were fighting, swimming upstream. Every time they seemed to have accomplished _something_ something else happened that threw them back... almost drowned them. She hated it. It hurt deep down in her bones and it had to hurt Tseng even more. Most likely, it was that what was eating on him... and what was wearing Rufus down more than anything else. She could not agree with Reno's optimism. If there was a quid for every quod, maybe, they were just paying for before Meteor now. Would only be fair. But then – would things ever get better?

Anyway, they had to do something. Shin-Ra, that was not just Rufus or Tseng, perhaps, Shin-Ra, that was them. It was time she, Reno and Rude did something, too. Something that was not working themselves dead in front of their screens as they followed orders. Something that involved thinking up own solutions.

She sat down and took out a piece of paper and started taking notes – ideas that had crossed her mind over the last few weeks.

Half an hour later, she hasted into the common room, the last to come.

Much to her surprise, Tseng was also part of the gathering. He was standing with his back to the window and gave her the tiniest hint of a smile as she entered that let her heart throb higher. She smiled slightly back but stopped where she was standing. Reno and Rude were both sitting on the sofas.

Tseng looked around. "I'm sure you've noticed that things are getting out of hand," he started, calmly. He looked tired.

Elena bit her lip. How could they not have noticed? It was getting worse with every day.

Reno nodded. "Thought we could get someone under cover..."

"Maybe, we should first make sure we're really safe," Elena interrupted, realising only a moment later that she was indeed interrupting. "I mean, I'm sorry, Reno, but – even if we get someone under cover, it won't be much use if we aren't safe."

Rude nodded. "Good point."

Tseng smiled a little, his smile irritated and taunt. "How? We couldn't stop that woman tonight and security is already very tight. After Rufus' account, the woman who attacked him yesterday night is most likely a New Geostigma terrorist. That she tried to kill him in his own room only underlines that they don't seem to fear much for their own lives. Until now, there wasn't much they weren't afraid to do. I _would_ like to tighten security, but we don't even know whom we are fighting. It could be anyone. And _she _can't tell us much since Rufus was a bit overzealous with knocking her unconscious." Tseng, Elena thought, seemed angry, almost helpless, and to see him like that hurt her deeply. "She knew that Rufus was infected and had had the vial from Tifa – or rather Cloud – which she termed 'stolen'." He looked around tiredly. "I don't know how to tighten security against people who know things about us nobody but us can have told them!"

"We ain't talked to anybody 'bout it, yo!"

Tseng shook his head. "I don't think you did. I don't even think Tifa has, however she behaved."

Elena nodded vehemently and felt herself blush. Of course, they had talked to nobody. Rufus' life depended on it that no one knew that he had been infected. There were still enough people around on the street who just waited for another opportunity to kill anyone who sported white spots.

"Then, Cloud talked," Rude stated.

A dark pause filled the room. Tseng was standing with his back to the window in the radiant sunshine, the naked metal of his arm on the window sill. Reno was sprawled over his chair, Elena stopped in her train of walking up and down the room while Rude sat just calmly on one of the chairs. He was most likely right, of course. Cloud would have wanted to know where the phial had gone to and judging by his appearance only the night before, he most likely knew or at least had guessed. The problem with Cloud was that he was not entirely as stupid as he seemed, so, if Tifa did not lie about it, he would have most likely guessed whom the vial had gone to. And told someone.

Elena turned back to Tseng, with another thing that bothered her: "Doesn't 'stolen' make it likely that, - uh – this terrorist from yesterday night belongs to the party from whom she feels it was stolen from? I mean... I'm sure none of us would have ever called it 'stolen'... I mean, Tifa didn't steal it, did she?"

Tseng looked at her and she almost fringed under his cold, tired coal eyes. "Unlikely. Reeve handed it to me _from_ Tifa. I don't think Tifa would make him convey stolen goods, and Reeve wouldn't steal anything for Rufus' sake."

"So, then, Cloud stole it," Reno shrugged.

The room was silent again, before Tseng nodded, slowly. "Maybe."

"Cloud knows something, then!" Elena whirled. "He either stole the vial from someone or he told someone about Rufus! Or both! We need to talk to him!" In the same moment, it occurred to her how likely _that_ was going to happen.

"So not gonna happen," Reno made.

"Tifa mentioned that Cloud met a radical group up north," Tseng interjected, his face dark. "Tifa isn't exactly stupid. If she sees a connection between the group up north about which Cloud told her and what is happening here, it would be smart to consider such a link, too. Especially after yesterday's events."

"But – doesn't that mean Cloud isn't involved with the group? He wouldn't have to steal anything if he were... oh...," Elena made. "Cloud has all the reasons, doesn't he?" If Cloud knew that Rufus had been interested in Tifa, and if he also was aware that they were trying to recover Shin-Ra – which Elena was sure Cloud did – Cloud did have all the reasons. His wife to keep, and the future for his children to save. But... was that not a little jumping to conclusions? Was it even adding up?

"I wouldn't go as far as to say he's involved apart from stealing that vial," Tseng uttered carefully. "But I am rather sure he knows something about it."

Elena blushed.

"So, we're gonna talk to Tifa?" Reno asked. "Shachou's gonna hate that, if he ever finds out!"

Tseng shook his head. "I actually think that Elena's idea isn't too bad and we should talk to Cloud." His face was darkening even more. "However, Cloud threatened to kill Rufus if he ever gets close to Tifa again."

"I could go," Elena offered. "I mean... I would be the most likely of us to whom he'd talk, wouldn't I? I mean... I'm not a threat and..." But the problem was rather that Cloud would not trust her enough to tell her anything. Tseng had told her about what had happened on the roof. Most likely, Cloud thought of them as his enemy. She was well aware that she did not possess enough rhetorical skill to – well, lie and tell Cloud that the world was at stake and that they needed his information to save the world and that everything depended on him. Even more so because, perhaps, Cloud knew a little more about that group, maybe about their aims, and maybe, that nothing but Shin-Ra was at stake. Her eyes ran to Tseng. However much perfect Tseng might have been, she knew that he was not exactly rhetorically skilled. Certainly not persuasive. Rufus was the only one of them five who possessed such skills but – well, Cloud was not likely to talk to Rufus about anything, not to mention trusting him with information.

Tseng shook his head. "No, we need you here."

"Couldn't we ask Reeve?" she suggested. But Reeve was not such a good choice, either. He needed Shin-Ra, but he did not like them. He might not want terrorism, but would he share information with them? He had, after all, not stopped the storming of Shin-Ra tower. And, much more importantly, could he make Cloud talk? Elena was not sure, but doubted it a little. After all, she would not trust anyone enough to tell that person secrets if she knew that that one was on – not too bad terms with her enemies, and might tell them if he thought it a good idea. Or, worse, Reeve was an honest person. If Cloud made him promise not to tell them, he would not. … so, Reeve was not much of a choice, either.

"I could talk to Tifa," Rude said silently.

"I think if Tifa knew more she would tell us. She's too honest not to, however badly she treated Rufus," Elena shook her head. "I mean, if Cloud made such a show of things yesterday, we can be almost sure he wouldn't tell her anything because he'd think she'd go babbling everything to us, right?"

Tseng gave a short nod.

"Might the children know anything? - I mean, we aren't on speaking terms with anyone else from Avalanche?"

Reno laughed. "Sis, you don't think Cloud's telling his _children_ more 'bout terrorists than his girlfriend!"

"We are not going to involve the children," Tseng shook his head.

Silence. Everyone was avoiding each others gazes.

"We could always ask Vincent," Reno said after a few moments. "I mean, he's old Turk and all..."

"After what Shin-Ra did to him?"

"Well... Rude 'n' me have seen him from time to time... so, what if we were to tell him that... well, people 're dying and stuff?"

"We'd owe him." Tseng rubbed his prosthesis, the dark metal reflecting the brilliant light. Elena had seen him doing that a lot, especially when he was worried. "But, yes, he would most likely talk to us. If we were to explain the situation to him, he might be even willing to ask Cloud. If he thinks we can do something about it, he would tell us, too."

Reno nodded. "I'm gonna ask him, then. 'xplain 'bout stuff n everything."

"I'll come with you," Rude determined, obviously much to Tseng's relief.

"Don't get us obliged before we know its worth it."

Reno grinned. "Course not, Senpai."

Tseng nodded. "Good. One more thing. I am going to get Rufus back to his old quarters."

The room fell silent.

"Old quarters?" Elena echoed, intrigued by the silence.

"Rufus used to be locked away here," Rude informed her.

"Oh," she said and felt stupid. Of course, she knew about that. Knowing Rufus, he would most certainly like it, to berth that close with the Turks again... _They_ would like it, too. Another person added quite a bit of activity. And Tseng would be happy about it. He liked to talk to Rufus, Elena had observed, late in the evenings. Although that made her a little doubtful. For, if Rufus talked so much with Tseng, would Tseng still have time for her? He rarely had time, even now. On the other hand, if Tseng felt he had to talk to Rufus, that was certainly alright with her. It made Tseng happy and he had been so very worried about Rufus and about everything in the last few months. No, she would feel much better if Tseng felt good. Maybe, very much maybe, they would let her even listen a bit to their conversations and perhaps add a word or two... well, if Rufus let her. If Tseng even wanted her around, then. She could understand very well if he wanted to talk to Rufus on his own, but... well... - what was she wishing for? Was she not getting everything she had ever wished for just now?

Tseng nodded. "Back to work, then."

"Work, work, work...," Reno complained, getting up. "Where are the times when being a Turk meant skulking through back alleys, all relaxed?"

Nobody answered him, only Rude pushed him out of the room a little quicker. Maybe, Elena thought, because they were all asking themselves the same question.

Tseng looked at her with tired eyes, smiled.

"Is everything alright, Tseng-s... Tseng?" she asked. He looked so awfully worried.

He smiled again, crossed the room. "I can't say it is... Yesterday, it shouldn't have happened."

Elena smiled back, tried to draw up all her courage and stepped a little further towards him, taking his hand. "A lot shouldn't have happened, Tseng, and... I mean... if things, well, by rights, we should not be alive anymore. And..."

Tseng nodded, closing his hand around hers and she felt so very warm inside. So very insanely happy to be standing so close to him. "I know what you're saying. I'm just worried about Rufus, you see. He had enough on his plate already, and you know how it turns into a different matter, knowing about terrorists and being threatened with death by them. I'm really worried. There's only so much a man can shoulder and I think Shachou is driving too close to that limit. Or maybe even on the other side of it."

"Isn't there anything we can do? I mean, after all, we are the Turks. We should protect him from harm! Can't we share any of his work?" And was Tseng not too working too much?

Tseng smiled. "Share? Elena, do you have room to work more? Does Reno or Rude? We are all heading for that limit."

"If – if we were to catch the terrorists, that would solve things, wouldn't it?"

Tseng shrugged. "It would make them much better. Then, we might actually be able to even save Shin-Ra."

Elena closed her hands tighter around Tsengs'. "Then, we'll just do that. And... now that Reeve's sending some of his people, we don't need to fear attacks as badly anymore, not presently, anyway. I'll do my best." She hesitated a moment. "There was something else I was thinking. I mean... I know it sounds crazy, but... if we just were to go on vacation?"

Tseng blinked, then laughed. "Vacation? Elena! Have you looked around, we can't just..."

Elena felt a stab inside her, stubbornly pressed her lips together. "One week. What's to happen in one week? I mean – don't tell me that in two weeks, this company would fall. We've got decent people working below us. They aren't all idiots and... well... I mean, I'm sure even those people that aren't Turks in _Sulfur_ are highly motivated. It's time to trust them. Most businesses run even if you're slack with the paper... I mean, look at old Shin-Ra! It ran over years and even through the war in Wutai. Even if things would go further downhill... it would be much better than – all of _this_! We'd all be much better off, much more reposed and... Shachou could forget about that unfortunate business with Tifa..." Her voice trailed off. "We needn't go far. Just... get a new focus on things. Be reachable in case something happens. I mean..."

Suddenly, Tseng placed his index finger on her lips. "You're right. Maybe, it _is_ time to rely a little more on the people below us. Just... don't mention the vacations to Rufus."

Elena did not even nod for fear of losing contact to his finger. "I wasn't only talking about Shachou... I _was_ also thinking of you," she mumbled against the finger, enjoyed every motion of her lips against it, his proximity. "I don't want anything to happen to any of you, you know?" She blinked, furiously, did not want him to see how worried she truly was. "I mean... sometimes, it feels like we are all lost in the woods, and can't find the way back home, because... well, home's dead, only, we haven't noticed, yet."

Tseng suddenly just looked at her and she could not read his stern expression, not the deep darkness in his eyes, not the frown in his face. His hand had slipped from her lips to her shoulder, lay there warm and heavy, as if it could protect her when she knew perfectly well that, ever since Meteor, both Tseng and Rufus had stopped being omnipotent. "Maybe, we just need to find ourselves a new home, then," he replied slowly. Elena noticed his voice was quite a bit deeper than usual and he was looking at her in a strange way. "Only, we must not leave any of us behind."

She smiled. The Head of the Turks speaking again. She stepped a bit closer, dared not, then dared to put her head against him. "I promise we will. I'll... I'll try to talk to Tifa. She owes us and she knows she does, I'm sure. She'll help us, I should think. But – don't tell Shachou."

She could feel Tseng smile. She had never thought that possible – she had never thought to _see_ him smile as much as she had seen him in the last few weeks. But now, when he closed his arms around her, she could hear his quick pulse in his neck, the strange warmth his body emitted that so utterly contradicted his cold demeanour, felt the heaviness of his prosthesis on her back and tasted that warm, warm smell. She had rarely felt any safer.

* * *

Elena was still gliding on soft clouds of fluffy happiness when she returned to her office, her heart still hammering with the thought of having been daring enough to embrace Tseng of all people and that Tseng had indeed replied the embrace, that they had stood for eternal, beautiful minutes and how insanely happy she still felt even at the thought, still bustling with wallowing happiness.

But the happiness was quickly staunched, for it was not long after she had closed the door – swaying on that cloud of happiness – that the telephone rang.

"Security department. I – ah – well, we've got a breach in security," the man at the other end of the phone said. He sounded – befuddled.

"Yes?" Elena inquired sharply and equally puzzled. She had been about to find out where she could possibly find Tifa to call in – favours she hoped existed. "Can't you deal with it on your own?"

"Well, Ma'am, we've tried but... - it's two children."

"Well, call their parents and sent them home," Elena gave back, irritated to be disturbed in her happy thoughts by something trivial like that. Two children indeed! "Make sure their parents teach them not to play on our grounds!"

"Well, that is the problem...," the man said. He sounded awkward. "They claim they are, well... they are the children of President Rufus..."

"What?" Elena barked into the phone, then frowned. "Have you searched them for explosives?" She asked carefully. She knew how... perfidious some people could be, turning children into bombs. Reno had told her about the war in Wutai, after all.

"Yes, Ma'am. We had a doctor check them. They are clean."

"Don't they carry anything with them that might give a hint who they are?"

"No, Ma'am."

"Any letters addressed to the president?"

"No, Ma'am. They just have bags with a few clothes and toys."

Why on Gaia did such things always happen to her? She was starting to feel very, very uncomfortable. "How old are they?"

"Well, the girl thinks she's seven and the boy says he's twelve."

_Twelve_, Elena did some quick calculations. Rufus would have been about seventeen twelve years ago. _Not__good_. But he would have been twenty-two seven years ago, and to all accounts he had been very much locked up at that time... Or perhaps not. He had been locked up at the age of 21 and, well, that _did_ lay within a nine month range.

"I'll... I'll be there in a moment!"

"Gate seven, Ma'am."

"Okay. I'll be there in a few minutes!" She felt herself sweating, breathing heavily, put on her jacket. What on Gaia was going on? She left the office. She was certain Reno would have gossiped _something_ if Rufus had been visited by a woman while locked up. - Would Rufus had not taken responsibility if he had fathered a child? She thought for a moment. Probably not. Most likely, he would have paid for the abortion, and made dead sure it took place. But Rufus was way too controlled. She could not believe that even as a youth he would not have taken precautions to father a child... or have the Turks deal with the matter afterwards... If the children arrived together, did that not signify they had the same mother? Or was someone trying to palm off his father's bastard children on him? Gaia! Why now?

She hurried down the corridor towards the elevator, strapping her gun into her holster. She pushed the next door open, hoping very much that it were not illegitimate children of either Rufus or his damn father. But what would they do if the children turned out to be Rufus'? What would they even do if they turned out to be his siblings?

And why, on Gaia, were they bothered with such things now of all times?

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_Thank you very much for reading again and I hope you enjoyed._

_I will try to post the next chapter a bit sooner, however, since I'm very busy with university at the moment and my muse still stressed out, it might still take a while. Again: I have every intention in the world to finish the story, even if it may take a bit.  
_

_Please review._


	44. Wherein ShinRa Has Two Unlikely Vistors

_Another chpater and I'm sorry again that I kept you waiting so long. I do very much hope that you'll thus enjoy._

_** varee** and **Licoriceallsorts**: thank you very much again for two lovely reviews._

_** Kadajklone100**: You are prefectly right if you say that Rufus&Turks did some very gruesom things and that in comparison, Tifa should not be blamed too much for what she did. However, I don't think the Turks would see it the same way. While they know perfectly well that they aren't good, I don't think they blame themselves very much for what they did. So, to them, Tifa did not behave nicely. Of course, Cloud and Reeve would see things differently and once perspective changes, the judgement about Tifa's behaviour will change, too ^^  
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Chapter 44: Tseng: Wherein Shin-Ra receives two unlikely visitors

_16. April, Wednesday_

"Elena told me something interesting today," Tseng started thoughtfully as he entered the hospital room. He still felt completely overrun by Elena's optimism, unable to feel as pessimistic about the world as he had at the start of the morning – would have felt unable to feel anything else than bustling happiness if he had not been on the other hand still completely overrun by Rufus and his argument. By Rufus' accusation. By Rufus' apology. He _tried_ very much to see it the way it was, that Rufus was just jealous (of course he was, no surprise in that) and that it had been his right not to react to his mobile, that he could not have known Rufus was in distress. … Anyway, the distress had been over, then. Still, he felt so very sorry he had not picked up. And he should not have called Rufus selfish. Well, of course, Rufus was, but... it was not that bad anymore. He had much improved. He had saved his life for Gaia's sake. If he had been selfish, he would have run for it and left him to die. He would not have been so stupid to risk his own life to save him. Gaia, Rufus and his bloody recklessness.

"Has she, now?" Rufus was buried in some files.

Tseng took a seat next to him. "She said she sometimes feels as if we are all lost in the woods and can't find a way home because _there__is__not__home__to__return__to_anymore."

"Of course there isn't. Burned, didn't it? Several times, actually."

Tseng closed the file Rufus was working on. Why was he always that difficult, that cynic? "That's not what she was talking about, I think."

Rufus looked up, eyes red-rimmed and as tired as the days before. "Are you expecting me to give up Shin-Ra now, Tseng? Looking for a new home? I know I – well, I made you, too, work too much lately, which I'm sorry for. But – I'm not going to give up. I will rebuild Shin-Ra and if it takes my life... and... that's not reckless. Shin-Ra is my company I will not let it go to waste."

Tseng felt a pang of guilt, even if he had been right about those things. "Rufus, I don't think you should give up Shin-Ra. I would never suggest that. Still. Things cannot go on the way they are."

"As far as I am seeing things, they will get better now, won't they? Reeve sent in the cavalry and we've caught ourselves a terrorists whose room might or might not yield some clues. I have been thinking, too, though, for I entirely agree with you that we are all working too much, and that it can't be good for the company in long run."

Tseng almost sighed, asking himself if Rufus might actually fear that if he lost the company, he would lose everything that defined him. Rufus would, Tseng was sure do anything not to suffer that. Perhaps, Rufus also thought he had to proof that he was not his dead father. That he actually could do better with that gaia-damned company like he had claimed all the years back. It certainly had never been about money, even if Rufus did not like to see it wasted. Rufus liked efficiency, not things money bought easily. He liked the simplest solution to equations, the one that cost the least possible energy but yielded the biggest effect. Money was usually not part of that equation because if one started bribing people, one could not stop and people grew greedier and greedier and... well, Rufus' father had been often enough topic of discussion for Tseng to know that Rufus had always seen money as the crudest solution to a situation that could be solved much more effectively. After one had paid for the startup.

"So, what have you thought up?"

"You are right. It is impossible to deal with both companies and the terrorism at once. So, I'll concentrate more on _Sulfur_ for the moment. It takes enough to built it up, and Shin-Ra might be left more in peace if people actually saw it …," he turned the pen between his fingers, "crumbling. As long as nobody finds out, nobody is going to raise a hand against _Sulfur_. Much on the opposite. I expect Reeve to happy about the concurrence _Sulfur _means to us."

Tseng shook his head. "You aren't going to deal with the terrorism."

"Am I not, now?"

"We are still the Turks, and it's still our concern."

"I need you for _Sulfur_. And Shin-Ra. I don't want you to also work on terrorism, too. Not because I don't think you can't handle it..."

"Who says my men aren't capable of doing proper jobs and reporting to me? Besides, I thought Rude handles quite a part of _Sulfur_. And Veld is a very capable man. Loyal. Just because you don't like him very much doesn't mean he isn't doing a good job. We've got enough Turks running _Sulfur_and they know their business."

Suddenly, there was a smirk on Rufus' face. "You talked to the others, didn't you?"

"Of course, Shachou."

The smile widened. "Well, you are right. As always, I suppose. Things can't continue on the way they are." Actually, he did sound relieved, tapped the file with his fingers, and then looked at him. "Thank you."

Tseng felt slightly unsettled by being thanked by Rufus. Perhaps that, more than anything else, was a sign of how tired he actually was. Maybe, it was a way of saying sorry. One never knew with Rufus.

"Don't worry about the terrorists, Rufus. We found a transmitter in that woman's room; we'll soon know who they are. And – they won't ever do such a thing again."

"At least, I won't ever order food to my room again."

Tseng almost smiled. "It was poisoned, by the way."

"So they were planning to kill me anyway."

Tseng nodded. "Seems like it."

"Hn." He was silent for a few moments. "I could move onto your floor. That would mean you were closer around. At least, if that makes you feel that it would protect me more."

Tseng almost smiled, simultaneously realizing that he would not have to lock Rufus away again. That, perhaps, there were other ways, too.

"What do you think, then?"

"I think the idea isn't too bad. We will additionally make sure that no one but us has access to the floor anymore, though."

Rufus almost pulled a face. "That means I'll get to clean my room again..."

"We all will," Tseng pointed out. He would like living on one floor with Rufus again, even if he was trying at times. How could he have even dared to say that Rufus was no Turk? Even if he had not gone through the fighting training, he was – and had been for years – one of them. Ever since Junon. Maybe, that had been the moment when this world had slowly started to descend into madness. "But at least, that will prevent us from being blown up with the sink because someone placed explosives there."

Rufus smirked. "Mild consolation. - Will you be joining me for lunch, perhaps?"

Tseng nodded. "I'd like to."

Rufus got up. "Let's go, then."

Tseng thought a moment, then nodded. It might be best to go before Rufus got restless and started wandering around. Besides... maybe, he could stop by at Elena's bureau on the way back. It had been such a beautiful moment to just hold her... he looked at Rufus, the way the man moved that still suggested the slight awkwardness potion treatment left back. He only wished Cloud had not come back at such an awkward time. A few months later, maybe. He wished that people actually were like they acted, but that was not even true for them.

"So, how is you arm?" Rufus asked after they had set into motion a few minutes later, out of the hospital, the five Turks behind them and to their sides.

Did Rufus care indeed or was he just trying to make up or... was he hiding something else?

"You are always rubbing your joint," Rufus precised. It almost took Tseng by surprise that Rufus had noticed. He never seemed to care about such things. Although that was certainly a mean kind of thought because, well, yes, of course Rufus cared.

"Oh," Tseng made. "Well, the doctors tell me that I should train it more, but I don't always find time."

"Was it nice, then, to spent the evening with Elena? Is she still so shy around you?"

So Rufus was indeed trying to apologise. Tseng remembered how he had been sitting on the couch with Elena, how he had almost fallen asleep to her warmth, how he had been angry that Rufus had to call, and how strangely much he had cared when Rufus had said that he was glad he had not drowned.

"Yes," Tseng replied. "It's getting better."

Rufus gave him half a look and half a smirk, and pushed the door to their common room open. While Tseng was still wondering about that expression, Rufus suddenly froze in the doorway, door half opened. In the same moment, his hand slipped for his gun.

"What's wrong?"

"Since when does Elena bring friends?"

Tseng frowned, reaching out for his own pistol. The way Rufus said it, it did not sound good at all. He pushed past, pushed the door open, carefully, and almost froze in his tracks in the same moment. Elena was indeed sitting on one of the sofas which made his heart almost stop with concern. But then, as the door swung wider open, he took in her rather stern but relaxed posture – and two children on the other couch.

All of them turned their heads when the door struck against the wall and Tseng knew he was standing dumbfounded in the doorway.

"Where's Tifa?" where the first words he was actually capable of uttering.

Elena smiled at him, such a warm and open smile that had the indecency to accelerate the rate of his heartbeat. "She's not here."

"What do you mean, she's not her?" Tseng gave back, puzzled.

Rufus pushed into the room. "What are _they_ doing here?"

"Mr. Rufus!" Marlene piped from the couch, jumped up, almost spilled her hot chocolate which she carefully placed on the table before she came racing at them, and Tseng feared for one moment she would be actually launching herself at Rufus who, if he was not much mistaken, would in that case have pointed his gun.

Denzel was sitting on the couch looking quite a bit guilty.

"Well, um, it _seems_ those two came here on their own account," Elena explained.

Marlene nodded vehemently, stopping right in front of both of them. "That's true! We got onto the train in Edge and went the _entire_ way to Junon all on our _own_!" She seemed mightily proud of that fact, beaming up at them.

Tseng could see Rufus glaring at that child in front of them, whose behaviour he himself found strangely endearing. There were so few people in this world who genuinely liked them and would have chosen to come an visit them.

"I see," Rufus made, studying the child. "I'm sure that's why you're so dirty." He turned back to Elena. "Why weren't they sent back by the guard at the gate?"

Tseng caught Elena blushing while he himself squatted down in front of Marlene, much like he had done so many years before with Aeris... long before he had taken so much of a liking in that girl. "I think we haven't been introduced. I'm Tseng of the Turks."

Marlene looked at him with big eyes, smiled, nodded. "I know who you are!" She took his hand, a small, soft child's hand that gave a little squeeze. "I'm Marlene. I'm Barret Wallace's daughter, although... they say I'm not and my real dad's gone bonkers and killed himself, and Tifa Lockheart is my mother!"

Tseng smiled at her, although he was asking himself what on Gaia had possessed those children to come here. "Nice to meet you, Marlene."

"Well, they told the guard that they were your children," Elena explained in the meantime under continued blushing to Rufus who glowered at Denzel.

"Did you, now?"

Denzel nodded at that, straightened his back. "I'm sorry, Mr Rufus, but they would have sent us home straight away, so, we had to make up something."

Rufus seated himself. "Hn. What makes you think I won't?"

Denzel looked a bit beseeching at Elena, and Tseng also felt the gaze upon him. "Let's go back to your chocolate, shall we, Marlene?" he told the girl.

But the girl's lip was quivering. "You can't sent us home! Please! We want to stay! We don't want to go home! It's horrible there! Please promise you won't sent us home!"

Denzel looked guilty. "Come here, Marlene," he murmured and put an arm around his sister when she came closer. "No need to cry, okay?"

It did not seem that the crying of a child awoke anything in Rufus but irritation which Tseng was not really surprised by.

"Stop crying," Rufus demanded rather sharply. "Tears have never solved anything, nor are they ever going to!" While not the method of choice, the answer certainly stunned Marlene into silence. The jerk of the head with which Rufus turned to Denzel proved that he was rather annoyed with the entire situation. "Explain."

Denzel shrunk even deeper into the couch and looked rather frightened as he drew Marlene closer. Frightened and tired and worn and too exhausted for a child. "It's... well... Cloud and Tifa, they are always arguing and... it's... I'm sorry, Mr Rufus, but, we couldn't stand it anymore! We tried to make them stop, but they wouldn't! And it's not getting any better and Reeve doesn't know what to do and, we didn't know what to do... and... it's, they are always shouting and... they are scaring Marlene, and I don't know what to do anymore! It's just..." Denzel stopped, obviously fighting back tears and looking rather lost with his sister in his arm who was now patting his hand.

Rufus gave a sigh which Tseng thought was a good moment to interrupt him before he uttered things like 'now, people argue, deal with it': "What made you come here, then?"

Rufus frowned at him.

Denzel shrunk even deeper into the couch, pulling Marlene even closer. "Well... um... Reeve would have sent us home directly and... I mean, he _said_ he would deal with it, but he only ever made it worse. And... I mean, you're good at solving things. You're strong and you made the murderers go away _and_ Tifa likes you. We thought you could help...?" He looked hopeful.

"If I'm to venture a guess, I'd say that your parents argue because of Tifa's involvement with us," Rufus remarked more or less neutrally.

Denzel nodded, with big eyes and obviously surprised. "Yes, that's true!"

"Isn't it a little non sequitur to come here, then?"

Tseng had no doubt that the children would quickly be cured of the notion that coming to them might have been a good idea.

Denzel blinked, seemed a little puzzled. "Um?"

Rufus drew in a breath and looked straight at the child: "Your parents are arguing because of me. If you want them to stop arguing, what on _Gaia_ makes you think they will if Cloud realises you prefer my company to his?" He sounded pretty vexed which Tseng could only agree with. Those children were going to get them into an entire heap of trouble with their nativity.

Denzel, however, seemed to be rather proud of their reasoning. "Well, if you're nice to us, Cloud sees that you aren't all bad and that Tifa is right about that. If you call them to tell them we're here, Cloud won't think you want to keep us, and Tifa will be angry, _and_ they'll have to make up once they realise we are gone."

"Oh, my," Rufus muttered. He looked almost bemused under the displeased frown. "You've done quite a bit of thinking, haven't you?"

Denzel blinked, looked uneasy. "Is that wrong?"

"Not particularly. However, the thing about thinking is that you'll have to come to a _smart _conclusion at the end..."

"First of all," Elena interrupted Rufus which might or might not have been a good idea. Knowing Elena, whatever she had to say, would not be so very much wrong. "It's not as easy as you think," She continued and certainly used the right soothing tone. She also looked very nice, talking down to both children. "Tifa _will_ be very worried once she realises you are gone – and you should feel very ashamed of yourselves to make her worry so much! But it won't make her and Cloud agree all of a sudden. After they've picked you up here, they still won't have solved their problems and continue arguing. I don't think Cloud will think any better of us. Worse, maybe, even, because... well, as Rufus said, it will seem to him that you prefer us to him. It won't do to prove Tifa right, I think. For him, it'll only do if she's proved wrong, because he's jealous of Rufus..." She hesitated a moment, biting on her lip and Tseng thought she did a beautiful job with explaining to two children a rather complicated situation in easy terms. She looked very endearing biting her lip like that.

The children, however, looked almost as cross as if Rufus had continued scorning their argumentation.

"There, there, I'm sure it's not as bad as it seems. They'll stop arguing soon enough," Elena continued and tried to look cheerful, although Tseng was sure she was well aware that they would not. At least not after the children had appeared here.

"Now, they wouldn't be here if it weren't that bad, would they?" Rufus pointed out in a rather understanding tone, padding Denzel's head, which – in Tseng's opinion – surely was the worst thing to say (or to do) if they ever wanted to get rid of them again. On the other hand, if Rufus was nice and understanding, it was never a particularly good sign for the person to whom all that attention was directed. And Rufus proved him very much right in that assumption as he went on: "For I'm sure they are well aware that they _are_ orphans, and that Tifa and Strife did a most remarkable thing in taking them in and saving them for starving. Something no one else would have done. So, if they ran away and risked that all, things had to be really, really bad at home, now, are they not, you two?" Rufus was all kind smiles.

Denzel gulped, holding Marlene fast in his arm. Guilt was painted all over his face, and even Marlene seemed to understand enough of what Rufus had just said to feel equally guilty.

Rufus pulled up one edge of his mouth. He looked – displeased and bemused and disdainful at the same time. "So, you didn't think about that before you ran. But I'm sure you expected us to keep you. Let me just ask you a simple question: why would we? You bring nothing but trouble to my doorstep. As it is, we have no room here for you, and you _will_ be a burden. One way or the other. So, what on Gaia could tempt me to keep you?"

Denzel looked stunned to death, guilt written all over his face. Tseng would have very much have preferred if Rufus had put it a bit kinder, even though he felt the same kind of anger that had been swinging in Rufus' words inside himself. He knew Rufus could. He also knew that Rufus had not bothered to make his point. But... the children were children. They did not know, yet, that the world regarded them as nothing but a nuisance and that they had been very, very lucky indeed to have found two people who were willing to look after them. He expected very much that they would have quite an amount of tears at their hands any moment now and Denzel truly looked crestfallen. From that point on, things would go rapidly downhill.

Marlene, however, disentangled herself from Denzel, and brushed over her eyes, looking straight at Rufus. "We can work," she said with a quivering voice. "We can work for the Turks. Denzel'll make a good Turk, and I'll learn rebuilding guns reeeal quickly, too."

Maybe, Tseng thought, that had been the right thing to say.

"We can't just put them on the train back!" Elena exclaimed in her inexplicable talent to always choose the wrong moment for saying the right things. "They are way to young!"

Rufus studied her, studied Marlene, studied Denzel, and then shrugged. "Why, of course not. They are children, after all." He turned back to the two. "I disapprove heartily of what you did, because you owe your parents very much, and good children shouldn't distress their parents." _Right_, Tseng thought. If Rufus did _not_ care about anything, it was that. "However, I can see why you acted that way. And Elena is right. We clearly can't put you back onto the train, you're too young to travel on your own, and it does seem it would not make much sense to sent you back to Edge by helicopter as you'd try running away again. It might do you some good to stay here and think about what you did, while your parents will have time to think about how to deal with you once they picked you up."

Tseng had very much trouble to hide a laugh. He did not know one person on the entire planet who would have been more hypocritical in uttering those words than Rufus. That it _was_ certainly not the worst way of approaching the entire situation, was quite another thing. Tseng also supposed it was the way Tifa would approve of most, and he was not quite sure if that was not Rufus' true motivation behind it all. It was true that they could hardly put them onto the train again and sent them back to Edge on their own. It was also true that it would mean quite a bit of trouble to sent them back to Edge via helicopter – but certainly less than keeping them a day or however long it would take their parents to pick them up. Was Rufus aiming at ingratiating himself with Tifa again now that he knew for certain that Cloud and she were not getting along? Or... maybe, Tseng thought, he was hoping to bargain with Cloud; we were nice to your children, so tell me what you know about New Geostigma and the terrorists. _That_ would be a dangerous game to play.

Elena, too, was eying Rufus rather suspiciously.

"Thank you, Mr. Rufus," Denzel muttered into the silence, still looking crestfallen and very much ashamed. "I'm sorry we didn't think about all that before... before we left..."

"Do you hate us very much?" Marlene asked after another few moments, her eyes full of tears.

Rufus blinked, Tseng felt touched by the uneasiness and fear in her words, and Elena looked just beautiful with her heated face and that worried looked in her eyes.

"Why, of course not," Rufus replied with a smile that was actually kind, hesitated a moment and then ruffled the girl's hair.

Marlene almost beamed happily at that. "Okay."

"Elena, would you be so kind as to get those two washed? I think they may leave their bags next door until we found a room for them. You can join us for lunch afterwards."

Elena nodded, solemnly, but didn't seem too happy about the assignment. Maybe, Tseng suspected, she was feeling guilty because it was her who had brought the children here. He would have to talk to her about that, he thought.

"Come," she told the children with just one of her smiles, and the children got up obediently.

"Thank you again," Denzel said when he had gotten up. "I promise we will behave very well."

It earned him another smug smile from Rufus. "I'm sure you will."

Elena shepherded the children out of the room and Tseng almost smiled when he heard her explaining that Rufus was not evil – only worried. It almost made him laugh. He had never thought that Elena was that creative where lies were concerned.

Rufus let out a sigh when the door had closed behind them, got up. "I guess it might be a good idea to call _Strife__Deliveries_ now and tell him that we have two packages to deliver for him... it might be better if you did that. And I should call Reeve. - Why couldn't they have just gone to Reeve? Why come here?"

Tseng gave a shrug. "Before we start complaining about life's unfair ways, I would like to point out that I don't think it's a good idea not to sent them back directly."

Rufus sneered. "Do you think they pose a security risk?"

"Not they," Tseng gave back, unperturbed. "Cloud."

"Oh, him... maybe. We will have to play this carefully. It would be best if we tell Cloud to come without Tifa, but directly to pick the children up. We should emphasise that we feel disturbed by them... Of course, I'd talk to him once he's here."

"Might be better if you did not," Tseng pointed out. If Cloud was still jealous, that would be entirely the wrong approach. Especially because – however impartial Rufus might act, Tseng was well aware that in love matters, one was never truly impartial, as much as one tried. Way too many years of experience with that. "It would seem as if you couldn't care less, and Cloud could talk to one of us which might make him more willing to tell us what he knows. - That is what you're aiming at, aren't you?"

Rufus smirked, satisfied, as it seems. "Among other things."

"Just – don't underestimate Cloud. We should not play games with him. And don't think that Tifa will be happy when she hears about this."

Rufus sneered. "Tifa has nothing to do with this. As I said, I am very much hoping she'll stay wherever she is. She won't be of any use to us, Cloud will. - We only have to be careful that we never even sound as if we might be keeping the children hostage. My other points are the following: we can't sent the children back by train, obviously. If we fly them back by helicopter, nothing will change for them. There'll still be arguments at home, and in a few weeks, they'll run off to someone else. We'd win nothing, they'd win nothing. However, if we were to keep them for a while – why, word will get round that we took them in and helped them. It'll improve our image considerable. Secondly – and I'm sure you won't like this: if word gets round that they are with us the likelihood of another attack on us decreases. Not much, but I don't think hat even those terrorists are too eager to blow up the children of Tifa Lockheart and Cloud Strife." Rufus flicked his hair. "Just apart from the fact that things might actually turn out beneficial for the children as well. For I think that Denzel was at least right in this point: the step those two took was so drastic that Cloud and Tifa will have to think about it. That might improve the situation a little. Most of all, it will give them time to come to a certain arrangement which would be beneficial for the children... Besides..." Rufus hesitated a moment and then added a little lower: "I was stupid enough to save the boy's life."

Tseng remained silent. For one, he was not sure what to answer – it _was_ of course exceedingly immoral to think of the children as a shield, but when all was said and done, it was a valid argument. Certainly Rufus would not have uttered it anywhere else but in his presence, him being not that unaware what norms actually forbade. Secondly, Rufus was feeling responsible. Of course, it was no news that Rufus was capable of doing so, after all, he did feel responsible for the Turks. Tseng felt guilt rising at that. He had called Rufus selfish and, yes, certainly, to most extents, Rufus was nothing but selfish. But not around them and not for Shin-Ra. He was unthinking, as he had explained to Elena which seemed now so long ago. The problem was, it would not do to tell Rufus that he, Tseng, had been wrong.

And thirdly, Tseng suspected that Rufus had chosen his line of arguments _exactly_ in that order to sooth him with the last. While fourthly, he could not stop to think about Elena's rather helpless expression as she had shooed the children out of the room.

"Where do you want to keep the children, anyway?" Tseng asked after quite a while of looking at the table.

Rufus shrugged. "I thought our quarters would be adequate. We can't put them into an orphanage. It would ruin the entire effect... Tifa keeps them in two separate rooms, so should we. Apart from that, I'll hire a nanny who'll take care of them as long as they aren't in their rooms. We certainly don't have time to entertain them. Otherwise... well, of course they'll be sent to school, and it might be a good idea if one of you would find time to teach them something Turk-ish. Not about fighting, Tifa disapproves of that. Perhaps running away? I suppose that pacific enough even for her. At least, the point is that they should keep us in a favourable memory, so they'll tell all their little friends what a good time they had here, _and_ they should learn things here, so the adults will be forced to agree that we teach children useful things..."

"And what exactly will be your part in this?" Tseng asked.

Rufus shrugged. "Teaching them about manners? - You should have seen the girl eat! - Maybe spent half an hour each evening with them and have them tell me what they did, maybe teach them a thing or two about business so that silly bar will run a _little_ better?"

"I hope it'll work out as easily as you put it." So Rufus did indeed like the children.

Rufus nodded, solemnly. "I hope so, too... At least, it is going to be _very_ interesting."

Tseng nodded without replying anything. He had a hunch that Rufus had no clue just how interesting exactly things were going to be. But he was not going to tell him anything about _that_. Rufus' plan was – as usual – rather sound. And they could all do with the children. Even if they would put more stress on them, they would also help to get their minds off matters and... they were well behaved, as far as Tseng had observed. It would do them all at least a little good to have those two around.

Hopefully.

Hopefully things were not going to end in yet another disaster.

And, of course, he hoped that the children would actually give him some reasons to see more of Elena. He smiled cordially at her when she whisked the two – much tidier and much cleaner – children into the kitchen where he and Rufus had already taken a seat at the table, waiting for the food to be delivered from the kitchen. Two meals more, now.

The children were all beaming, ready to please, Rufus seemed to be rather ready to approve (at least he commended the children on looking much more civil now), and Elena was just beaming over her entire face when she got to sit with him. One of these days, he would really have to talk to Elena about where exactly things were heading. For now, he was just thankful to let them run. For them to be the only thing that was not pressed into any shaped plan.

* * *

_Thank you very much again for reading. I hope I'll be able to post again soon. The next chapter will be about Tifa and Cloud again and Cloud will do a bit of explaining._

_Please review!_


	45. Fama ruant

_Another Chapter, as promised about Cloud._

_I hope you'll enjoy._

* * *

Chapter 45: Tifa: Fama Rurant

_21. April, Monday_

"It's Shin-Ra!" Cloud had insisted, pointing at the letter.

Tifa, still shocked by the discovery, heart still hammering from searching the rooms and finding them – and the entire house – empty of the children, shook her head. "No, impossible! They wouldn't..."

"They wouldn't?" Cloud almost shouted back. "Why wouldn't they? Why would that be beyond them? They've replaced entire villages! They've kidnapped people for less! - They must have had it all planned out!"

"But... why?" Tifa had been unable to grasp it. Unable to grasp that the children had run away, unable to grasp that Cloud could think that Shin-Ra was behind it all. "Why would they? This – I mean, look at the handwriting. It's definitely been Denzel!"

"Well, who else would? Who else would kidnap our children? Nobody else still has unfinished business with us!"

In her inability to comprehend that the children might have really decided on running away, she had agreed after a while, Tifa was very much ashamed to say. It had been so late, she had been so shocked, so exhausted by the entire day that nothing else seemed to make sense. And it _had_ made beautiful sense. Rufus had every reason to take revenge on her, every single word he had said about her that evening was proof of that. And taking her children was certainly the best way to do that.

Now, she was standing on an empty train platform in Kalm, the warm wind of spring tearing on her hair, on her clothes as she watched the lights of a train disappear into darkness. She did not know what to do anymore. She had been looking for the children for five days now and there was no trace of them. Nowhere. She was ashamed of those thoughts about Shin-Ra and terrible worried about the children. She _wished_ Shin-Ra had taken them, because, that would have at least meant that they were save. But – she could not think _that_ ill of Rufus to suppose that. Even if Shin-Ra had, they _would_have called her. But it would have been stupid and childish of him to kidnap her children, and none of those two words were a fitting description for Rufus.

If they had been with Shin-Ra, one of them would have been called by now. They would have reached Cloud at home and he would have gotten the children already. They would have called Reeve, and Reeve would have called her. Her inside clenched sickly with the thought of what it meant that she had not found them yet. Something horrible must have happened to them. Otherwise, _someone_would have called her. She felt entirely exhausted as she turned away from the empty platform where she had asked the train attendant if two children had been sighted here.

She was just desperate. The children had been nowhere. She had told Cloud she would find them. She had fought tooth and nail to be the one who went to look for the children. She had been so _sure_she would find them. They had run because of their arguments, she was certain, and it pained her even more. They had driven them away and now, they were nowhere to be found! She had first asked Reeve for help. Reeve had not known anything, but promised to call her, to help where he could. She had then traveled to Barret because Barret was the most likely one they could have gone to. But to her ultimate horror, Barret had not seen the children in months.

Vincent, although picking up his phone, had not known anything, either. They were not hiding with any of their friends, they had not been seen at any airport or harbour, Tifa had spent the last few days combing through those places outside of Midgar where they had spent a weekend, camping, last summer. Nothing. The children were just gone, and she could not bear the pain – the fright – that was tearing at her inside. Reeve had not called, either, no news from Cloud, just nothing.

She was sick with fear for the children, afraid even to draw the next breath. And now, she was standing on this platform somewhere in nowhere, spring air and exhaustion fumes in her throat and she did not know where to go anymore. Where to look. Why could she not have just swallowed Cloud's comments and admitted that she might have been wrong? Why had she even _defended_ Shin-Ra? Why had Cloud – and she almost felt hate welling – had been unable to just recognize his own mistakes and accept hers? She dragged herself away from the platform, into the bright light of the station, down to where her motorbike was standing. She dragged herself towards the bike, tired, discourage, clueless, forced the telephone from her pocket to call Cloud and tell the answering machine once again that she had been unsuccessful. But even as she pushed the digits, she knew that she would not be able to speak those sentences. To admit that she was at her wit's end. To admit that she had to give up looking for the children. The phone was shaking in her hand. She did not want to let go of it, could not bring herself to do that. After all, there was still one person left she had not called. Even though she was not sure he would even pick up. After all that she had done, after all he thought about her, how could she expect help?

She was afraid to hear his voice again.

But what was pride compared to the safety of her children? What did her feelings matter compared to finding the children?

The sun had almost completely been swallowed by the horizon by now and she closed her fingers around the mobile, searched for the number, the mobile still shaking. If there was anyone who could find the children, it was them. Although they had to have every other worry in the world with the terrorist attacks.

She pressed the mobile against her ear, felt cold despite the warm wind.

It rang on the other side.

Once.

She closed her eyes.

Twice.

Was he even going to pick up?

"Yes?" The voice came almost as a shock, soft, a little irritated, and mellow.

"This is Tifa... Lockheart," she added her name on second thought remembering that he had gone back to using it.

"Good evening, Miss Lockheart." She heard him putting something aside, did not know how to phrase the question.

"How are you?" She wanted him to be well, that all those attacks on his company did not matter to Shin-Ra as much as Reeve, yes, gloated.

"Puzzled. Why are you calling?"

Tifa took a deep breath. "My children have gone missing." She tried to keep her voice steady.

For a moment, there was silence at the other end of the phone.

"I – I know you know how to find people, so ..."

"They are here, of course. - Hasn't anyone told you?" He sounded astonished. "We've informed Cloud on Thursday already. And Reeve on Sunday since your Cloud didn't return any of our calls."

Tifa felt her breath choking her throat, tried to swallow the knot that was forming, tried to keep the relief, the tears and the desperation out of her voice as she whispered: "Why didn't you call _me_?"

Again, Rufus was silent for a second. "We didn't want to get you into trouble."

"Trouble? I've been worried sick!" She knew she should not be shouting. She knew it was hardly Rufus' fault. Well, most likely not.

"I'm sorry to have you worried. That was far from our intention. We were hoping that Cloud would come and pick the children up without involving you. Really, Miss Lockheart, they are having a miserable time at your place, and contacting _you_ to pick them up would have only increased your friend's jealousy."

She felt a tear escaping her eyes, hated Rufus for saying that straight to – straight to her ear. Guilt made her feel almost sick, pairing itself with anger at herself, at Cloud, at their stupid arguments and at Rufus' schemes. For she was sure that if he had really wanted to get rid of the children as quickly as possible, he _would_ have called her without giving much of a thought about the trouble he would be causing her. Or would he? And he had not behaved entirely honourable either, that evening at Reeve's. She still blushed with anger to think about what he had said about her. The scorn he had poured upon Cloud. Her own foolishness.

"How kind of you."

Rufus gave a sigh. "Miss Lockheart, I'm not very happy about having those two here, either. Please get Cloud to pick them up. While I would be much obliged if you did it yourself and as quickly as possible, I assume it _is_ better for you and especially for them if you have him get them."

Even through her anger, the flooding relief and the guilt she supposed that he had a point. Maybe, she should not mention her phone call, either. Certainly not that she felt so very relieved that the children were with Shin-Ra. And so very thankful, also to that somewhat irritated voice in her ear.

She tried to calm herself, tried to breath evenly. "I won't be back at Edge before tomorrow evening," she replied. "And I don't think Cloud will leave before Wednesday, then." She would take most of tomorrow getting back to Edge on her motorbike. Even if she pushed the speed limit. "So, you'll have to put up with the children for a few more days."

Rufus gave a soft laugh. "We'll manage."

"Thank you."

"Just have them picked up and make sure they won't come again."

"It's still kind of you that you've taken them in and not thrown them out right away. And that you're taking care of them."

He sneered. "I don't do anything out of kindness. Good night."

"Well, thank you, anyway. Good night."

The phone went dead on her and she did not know exactly what to feel under the dying anger apart from infinite relief. She had been too relieved, even, to ask how they were doing. Or, rather, she was sure that they were doing well enough. Shin-Ra would not treat them badly, whatever Rufus' agenda was.

But why had Cloud not picked them up, yet? If he knew Shin-Ra had them, should he not have run the moment he had heard to rescue them from those evil cretins? And if he had not, where was he again that he was not picking up his mobile? Had they not agreed that he should stay at home in case the children returned? In case someone called? Where was he off to again? Old anger and bitterness mixed with the new relief as she turned to an old inn to catch a bit of more than necessary sleep she had neglected over the last few days.

There was no light in the bar when she arrived late in the next evening. The key creaked in the door as she turned it and stepped into the empty bar room. There were no customers waiting, although it was close to nine o'clock. After one week, they had gone looking for other bars again. Tifa had no idea how on Gaia she should keep her bar alive. Not like this. She did not even know how to pay the bills with all the days the bar had been closed over the last few months.

A man who passed by in the dark gave her a queer look.

"Cloud?" She called into the house, closing the door behind her. She was tired. All she wanted was to go upstairs, say hello to Cloud and be sure that he would, finally, pick up the children tomorrow. Find out why he had not so far. Why he had not called.

But all that she heard in the house was the echo of her own voice.

Anger she had swallowed all the way to here swept through her body. Had she not agreed with Cloud that he would stay back while she went looking? Why could he not keep to even that promise? Why could he not just pick up the phone and get the children? Had he stopped listening to his messages now? Thinking back at her conversation with Rufus, she felt entirely embarrassed. That she had snapped at him. That Cloud and she had been unable to make up and driven the children into running away.

She dragged herself up the stairs and stopped on the step into Cloud's study. The answering machine was blinking, out of the dark a small, blinking dot. So, Cloud had not been here at least today. Most likely, he had not even been here for days.

She did not comprehend. He had not been like that before. When they had made an agreement before, he had kept to it. He would have never left, he would have staid here. Well, he might not have called back, but he _would_have picked up the children at Shin-Ra and brought them back. So, why not anymore?

She was not sure how long she had been standing there, staring at the blinking machine, but it was the noise of the door that startled her from her thoughts. She heard heavy, familiar steps on the wood. Was this really all her fault?

"Tifa?" Cloud's voice rang through the house.

"Cloud?"

She heard his steps hurrying up the staircase, then, in the next moment, he came into the room, carrying that smell of open fields and mako and battle with him she was so used to.

"Tifa! How long have you been here already? When you called, I tried to come as quickly as possible!"

"Where – just, where were you, Cloud? Have you picked up the children?"

He shook his head. "No... not yet."

"Not – yet?" She stared at him, felt anger and resignation. "Where _were_ you, then, Cloud? I thought we had agreed that you'd stay here in case the children come back!" Maybe, they should have agreed otherwise, it dawned to her slowly. But she had been unable to stay a moment longer with the children missing. Had Cloud, too?

Cloud stopped in the middle of the room, looked as lost as she knew him, as determined and – as unhappy. "I... I... I had to make sure that nothing had happened to them. I had to look for them."

"But – Cloud, we agreed that you'd stay here and wait! Somebody _had _to wait here! And I looked everywhere!"

Cloud shook his head. "You wouldn't have looked there. Tifa, I really needed to make sure they had not picked him up. I – I would have gone directly, but, well – you can't be persuaded to do anything you don't want to."

The accusation hurt. "As if you can. And I've done lots of things I did not -" she stopped herself, did not want to argue on top of everything else. "Of whom did you have to make sure that they did not pick them up?" She asked instead, suspiciously. What was he talking about?

Cloud shrugged, looked completely unhappy and wrenched now. "I... Tifa, I think I owe you an explanation."

Tifa just glared at him, the lights from the street drawing his shadow onto the wooden floor. She felt too tired to be angry.

"Come. Let's sit down," Cloud said, gently, and she felt his warm hand on her shoulder.

"I wanted to discuss everything with you when I came here," he began when they had sat down in the kitchen. "You know, I haven't been staying away for half a year because I didn't care. I, well, if I could have had, I would have returned you calls. Only, when I came back, everything had changed and I felt – I still feel – like I couldn't trust you anymore. All this business with Shin-Ra... I mean, Tifa, how could you? You know what they've done! They killed two of our best friends! They killed our entire family, erased our village! You might not remember, but – I can't get it out of my head! I can't stop seeing Nibelheim burning! I can't stop seeing them murdering Zack!"

Tifa forced herself to remain silent, dark anger inside her. What kind of explanations were it where she got accused all over again? Where Cloud said all over again they-killed-Aeris, they-burned-Nibelheim when it had been Sephiroth. Where was that Cloud that had wanted to give them a chance to change? And this time, Cloud had even said, word by word, that he did not trust her anymore. Where did that leave them if he did not trust her anymore? Why could Cloud not just accept that what happened had happened, that their friends would never come back but that things had changed?

Or had they?

"Anyway," Cloud returned back to that calmness again that suited him so much better than this agitation. "You know I went away to look for an antidote against White Geostigma. I... I didn't call back because I didn't want you to get too worried at that time. I heard bad things about it and I experienced it myself. After two months, I heard the rumour that up north, there was this woman who could brew a potion to heal White Geostigma. So, I went there, too. It took me several weeks to find her, and when I came there, I found that several others had arrived, too. They had formed a small group. At first, it was very good there. The woman told me that she would teach me how to do the potion. I agreed because I had to bring a potion back for Denzel, of course. I thought I could do _something_, Tifa. You were so distant ever since Deep Ground, you know?

"This woman – Martha - couldn't only do this potion but she taught many of us how to use the powers within us without harming ourselves.

"She was a very nice woman. You would have liked her. Very much like Aeris' mother. Very peaceful despite everything they had done to her... Then, one day, some Shin-Ra officials came and took her away for questioning. She died on the way to their station. _They_ say it was suicide."

Tifa looked at him. Until now, his story did not differ much from what she had heard from Reeve. Cloud only had not mentioned to her so far that she had died without revealing her secret. "Why would they just arrest her?" In the same moment as she posed the question she realized that she had started assuming that Shin-Ra was not doing random evil things.

Cloud gave a sigh. "Why does Shin-Ra arrest anyone? We were probably a nuisance to them. Anyway, they _said_ we sabotaged some Shin-Ra pipelines, and that she had ordered it. So, they just came and got her, without any proof! I'm sure they took her because they wanted to know her secret! If I had been there that day, I would have defended her, I tell you!"

"I'm sure you would have had. But... I'm – well, I doubt Shin-Ra here knew anything about that." Surely, if they had known that there was some one curing New Geostigma, Rufus would have told her? Yes, he would. She was certain of it. He would have wanted to win her over. He would have made it public to increase Shin-Ra's popularity.

"Oh, you believe it that readily! That Rufus is good! - Do you – have you ever thought about what he did, before Meteor?"

"Please. Cloud. Just – continue. We both know what they did." She was too tired to start that argument again, too tired to even listen. Angry, because he told her what she knew already, full of those old accusations that had driven the children away, without any reason why he had not been here. Why he had not picked them up already. Why she had gone through all those days of worry again.

"No! Just – Tifa, you haven't been there! You just know about Nibelheim! You think that's it! But Martha, they had her interrogated before and – she didn't kill herself for no reason. She used to be one of old president Shinra's mistresses and she had a child. They forced her to leave Midgar, interrogated her, forced her to live in another place when he didn't want her anymore. They would have _killed_ her if she had ever told anyone about the affair – or gotten back into contact with her family! - And, you might think that things got better when _Rufus_ took over, but – he really _meant_it when he told us back then that he wanted to rule the world with _fear_, Tifa! He sent his people into every part of the country to kill all his father's illegitimate children! They killed Martha's son, told her it was an accident! - And, it also wasn't Sephiroth who killed old President Shin-Ra. There are witnesses that the Turks knew that Sephiroth was around. They _staged_ it, you know? Your fine Rufus went in there with his Turks and killed every single one of those people and made it look like Sephiroth did it! That's why he was there so quickly! They just left us alive to blame us, just in case! - That's the man in whose company you brought our children!"

"Cloud. That's silly. I know what Shin-Ra did. I witness, remember? But I don't think Rufus did everything the rumours accuse him of," she heard herself saying, quietly, was surprised by her own words. She did not know where Rufus had been, what he had done. Still. She could not believe what Cloud said. She could not imagine Rufus staging Sephiroth's murder. It would have been inane. He could not have known that Sephiroth was planning to destroy the world. And why would he have ordered to kill the illegitimate children? What were they to him? He had had the power to ignore them. So, he would have ignored them. He did not do random evil things. The problem, however, and maybe that was what should have sickened her was that she was pretty sure that Rufus was capable of them. But, being capable of horrible things and doing them – those were two different things, were they not? They themselves were capable of horrible things. She was. She had murdered, too. She had not done horrible things because it went against everything she believed. Rufus would not have because – it would not have been reasonable. Not necessary. But that was not the same. That was all she disliked so much about Rufus. But was the bottom line not that he had not done most horrible things? Maybe because he had not had the chance. She had not, either, because she had not been forced to. Why could Rufus not be little more moral? A little more good? Not just reasonable? Why did he sometimes have to do good things? She hated all those questions. Hated that she could not just agree with Cloud and say, yes, Rufus _is _evil.

"He _sent_ his soldiers to kill her son!"

Rufus, she thought, would have sent _Turks_, but did not say anything, did not want to argue, but was much more certain now that it were rumours. Maybe, doing the reasonable thing was not that far away from doing the right thing, anyway. And it was not like Rufus did not sometimes do the right thing instead of the most reasonable one. "So...," she tried, carefully. "After this old woman died, why didn't you join them for revenge on Shin-Ra?"

Cloud looked at her, then looked down. "No. I mean... as much as he – as they have done, we don't have the right to kill them. I mean, if we'd try, we could also hurt other, innocent people. Tifa, we hurt people the last time. And – what gives us the write to pass judgment? So many people died during Meteor, none of them deserved to die. It might be unfair that they survived, but – as long as we can't give life back them, we certainly don't have a right to judge over other people's lives... - do you understand what I mean?"

Tifa felt her heart beat quicker, nodded, slowly. "Yes, I know exactly what you mean."

Cloud nodded. "Not that I think we'd make much of a mistake with them, still..." Tifa felt relieved even when Cloud hesitated to talk on. No matter how she had decided, she did not want Cloud to – become grey. Cloud had always been good, and whatever happened, she did not want to draw him into this grey mess, too. Where she did not know right from wrong anymore. Where Shin-Ra suddenly seemed to be so right. So... she thought of Rufus again, the way he had glared at Cloud, the anger, his words. Their conversation on the phone and how much she had missed his voice. How safe she thought the children now that they were in their custody. It was silly, she knew, but the more she thought about what was happening, the more she wanted to take up her own gloves again and fight at their side against those terrorists. She could not really bring herself to believe those rumours Cloud had quoted. Did they not deserve to start over again after Meteor? Were they not trying hard?

Cloud nodded, still looking at his hands. "There's also something else..."

Tifa halted in her relief, suspicious by the way Cloud had said it. She just looked at him, willing him to go on. If Cloud was trying hard to say something that he felt was difficult to say, one question could make him shake his head and walk away, brooding and silently. Because he did not want to bother her, she had used to think. She had loved to sit still for hours, to watch him out of the edge of his eye and wait for him to talk. Now, she tried hard not to loose her patience. When had she become so impatient?

Cloud was still looking at his hands when he spoke the next time, taking a deep breath before he did so. "I stole a phial. I mean, Martha told no one about the last ingredient to those potions, so, I mean – as much as Shin-Ra as _earned_ to be destroyed, Denzel has earned to live. And I – to be honest, Tifa, even if I think Shin-Ra should be destroyed, I don't think it should take anymore lives, you know? And, I think Denzel is more important than Shin-Ra. So, I took a phial."

Tifa looked at him, but he would not reply her gaze and she asked herself why that was a bad revelation. Of course, stealing something was not a very good thing, but they had stolen a few things when they had tried to save the world. She was about to open her mouth but then closed it again. Maybe, she have told him now that he had done right, that stealing that vial had been the right thing to do. That he had saved Denzel with it. That he had saved Rufus with it which she certainly was not going to say out loud. But most likely, he would be vexed because he would think about how it _had_ saved Shin-Ra.

Then, it struck her that he was justifying himself again for not going after Shin-Ra. As if his former justification had not been enough. As if he still thought that they earned death and tried to justify himself for not killing them. And if he had been willing to steal during their quest – how did that add up with where he had been?

"Did you think that _they_ might have taken the children?" she asked slowly. "Was _that_ where you have been all these days?"

Cloud stared down onto the floor, then, after what seemed infinity, he nodded. "I'm sorry, Tifa. I didn't mean to get them into danger. I – I mean, there were only so few phials, but – I never thought they would come after Denzel for it. I mean, they didn't..."

"But you think it likely they will."

He shrugged.

Tifa gave a sigh. "What for. I mean, if they don't have no phials anymore to turn him into one of them, how can they possibly want him anymore?"

Cloud was still not looking at her, still staring at the floor. "Martha died without telling us what the last ingredient to the potion was. _They _think it's White Geostigma infected's soul."

Tifa suck in her breath. This was getting worse and worse. "Is it?"

Cloud shrugged. "I don't know."

Tifa got up. "Okay, I'm leaving."

Cloud's head shot up. "Where to?"

"To get the children, of course!"

Cloud's eyes narrowed. "To Shinra."

"To Shin-Ra, yes."

"I'll go."

Tifa took another deep breath to calm herself. "No. You won't. You had every chance in the world to get them from there in the last few days! You didn't! You didn't even bother to listen to your message box! It's – it's the same discussion all over again, Cloud! You didn't even bother to tell me that they were _in danger_! That someone might want to kill Denzel just because – just because of some silly freaks!"

"They aren't freaks!" Cloud was suddenly shouting back, his eyes blue with mako. "They aren't freaks, Tifa! Just – you have no idea what Shin-Ra did to them! They've got their reasons! They. Aren't. Freaks!"

"Revenge is no solution! You know it, I know it! - You said so yourself! They are _killing_ people! They don't – and don't get me started on the vials! - I'm thankful you saved Denzel's life, but I'm going to pick up the children now."

"What do you think? - That I'd be welcome back there? That they'd just let me walk back in there, have every liberty in the world and return your calls? I'd – I'd - "

"What? What did you promise them for information?"

Cloud did not reply for a moment, then shook his head. "I wouldn't! Tifa – what are you thinking about me? I wouldn't promise anyone anything that could hurt either of you! I _spied_ on them!"

Of course he had, Tifa thought. Going in there, promising something and getting questions answered in just one night was not Cloud's approach to things. Cloud, after all, _always_ kept his promises. But maybe, that was the problem.

"I'll pick up the children," she repeated.

"Will you bring them back here?"

Tifa blinked. "Are you crazy? If you're telling me that those people would like to have Denzel to _kill _him, do you think I'd bring him back _here_ where they'd know where he is?"

"I don't know if they want to kill him. They might not want to. They didn't say so. When I pretend to work for them, they won't want to."

"When you pretend to..." Tifa only started but took a deep breath before she swallowed the rest of the sentence. Cloud's eyes were full of mako-green stubbornness. Even if she told him now that one did not pretend to work for terrorists. That one either did or did not, he would not listen.

"Listen, Cloud. I'll pick up the children and get them into safety until this is over. Then, we will come back."

"You are just going to protect Shinra as well," Cloud said, quietly, his eyes now full of accusation.

She had tried not to think about it, but of course she was also leaving to at least tell Shin-Ra. Rufus was no fool. If she told them what was going on – that they were also after his soul – he would not refuse her help. But that did not really matter. When she had asked them in winter for their help, she had walked willingly into their world. Their world had more or less welcomed her. Rufus had saved Denzel. At least, if not for everything else that had happened between them, at least for that she owed him.

So, she nodded. "Yes."

"You can't."

"Stop me." She was sick of it. Sick of all those arguments, all that jealousy, sick of always trying to make the right choice.

"Tifa, I've told you what they've done! If someone has earned to have his soul used, it's Rufus."

Tifa looked at Cloud. "Whatever they've done, I owe them for Denzel's life. I owe them for looking for you, for not throwing us out into a snowstorm when we came to find you. I owe them for every bit of kindness they showed me and I owe them for paying it back to them in pain. You always want to be good, Cloud. You always want to make the right choice. I don't know anymore what the right choice is. I don't even think that there's just one choice that's right or, sometimes, any right that isn't also wrong. - But I tell you, not going would certainly be wronger than helping them." She reached out for that door, realising with a cold rush in the same instance, that she had spoken to him in the same way as she usually accused Rufus of his janusic morals and schemes. Only now, she was accusing Cloud of being good. It frightened her. How had she got here? What had she become? How could she possible be accusing Cloud of something she would have given her life for only months ago? How come she had not even realised moving anywhere with her opinion? That the world was suddenly so grey that even her white knight was spotted in black and white.

Her hand close around the handle of the door.

"If you go out there – if you leave to get them, Tifa, we are done."

She stopped, grasped the handle harder. Was she really going to leave now, throw everything away just because of what she thought she had to do? Of what she did not even know it was right? To be with Cloud again, she had sacrificed Rufus. Because she had thought it was right. To make that right again – should she be sacrificing Cloud? She had no illusions that, if things had worked out with Cloud she would not have wasted another thought on Shin-Ra. But they had not. And Rufus was changeable.

"Maybe, we should indeed take a break, Cloud. I'll take the children some place safe – and I don't think Shin-Ra's safe; the terrorists are after it, aren't they? If everything's over, we can talk again." She drew in a deep breath, felt relieved by those words. Tired. No more constant fighting. She had driven the children away with those fights. No more fear of the wrong word. "We'll meet here again in a few months, okay?"

"Tifa..." Cloud was standing in the middle of the room, his eyes almost begging her. But he did not continue and she closed the door behind her and went into her room to sleep at least a little, to think it all over, before she started packing.

She heard Cloud's steps, but he did not come after her.

* * *

_Thank you very much for reading again._

_Since this is one of the most important chapters in this half of the story (it will determine almost everything that happens from now on), I would take it kindly if you could tell me what you think about it. Whether it's at least half way logical or if it needs excessive change. _


	46. Wherein Tifa calls Reeve

_Thank you very much again for your responses to my question and for your reviews. You really encouraged me not to write the last chapter all over again (and to go on)._

_**Kadajclone100, Icequeen69:** I am planning to have Cloud come to Junon somewhen in the following chapters.I don't know, yet, if he and Rufus will meet, but I'll see what I can do._

_PS: Does anyone have any ideas how to upload documents from Latex to ffnet? I've finally managed to switch to Latex, only to realise that I'll have to upload with Word anyway. And it's kind of vexing to erase all the Latex commands again, after it has been rather painstaking to implement them._

* * *

Chapter 46: Reeve: Wherein Tifa calls Reeve

_24. April, Thursday_

Reeve looked around him, at the bare walls, the seats that were being placed.

The architect proudly explained to him that, even without a microphone, the room was build in such a way that a voice from the speaker's desk would carry loudly into the remotest corner.

Reeve nodded, satisfied. "Very good. Are you in plan with the works?"

The woman grinned. "A little \emph{in front} of plan, even. The hands can't believe what we're building… some, most, even, had to be explained what a parliament is."

Reeve nodded. "Yes… Shin-Ra was careful not to have it mentioned in schools or something."

"Will you be standing for office, Mr Tuesti?"

Reeve shook his head. "No, I don't think I shall. You see, the most important thing about the state is the division of power and WRO presently yields almost all of the executive power. I will be glad if we are able to give the legislative powers into the hands of a government that is independent of WRO!"

She smiled. "Well said!"

Reeve replied the smile. "I only hope that this country hasn't forgotten how to be democratic, yet. After all, it's been over 25 years now… I myself was barely a child at that time."

He only dimly recalled how more and more Shin-Ra had appeared everywhere, how it had slowly flooded school and that his mother's face had been pale when he had told her he had signed up for a Shin-Ra scholarship for the gifted. He had known she would oppose it, but he had still done it. After that, they had rarely talked to each other anymore, but if he had not applied back then, he would have never been in a position to save the planet as he was now.

"I'm sure they will," the woman assured him, accompanying outside to the car and the heat that hit them as soon as they left the shadowed parliament was almost unbareable. The stinging sun that oppressed the town made ever motion draining, "at least, thanks to all the funds your company provides, the parties will be able to get the interest of all people and inform them on their programs. I'm so looking forward to the elections! – A cousin of mine has joined in a liberal party!"

"Congratulations," Reeve replied, astonished and at the same moment happy to find someone so ecstatic about the elections he had planned for the following spring… until then, it would still be a hell lot of work to establish a system that granted at least half way fair elections. "I'm happy to know that people are actually eager for democracy."

"Of course we are!", the young architect laughed. "At last we can participate in what the state is going to do… nobody will disappear without a trace anymore and we can be sure that law is what is written on paper and not what Shin-Ra thinks is justified!" She held out her hand. "It was a pleasure to have you here, Commissioner!"

Reeve took her hand and climbed into the car with a warm feeling in his stomach. He was proud. Maybe, he should not have had. Times were serious, WRO had enough problems of itself, and terrorism was once again a major issue. People with White Geostigma were still heavily discriminated against and only two days ago the police forces had just been in time to stop the murder on one of those pour fellows in the poorest part of Edge.

But everything else was just working out fine the last few day before yesterday, his soldiers had just prevented an attack on a railway bridge, and they had taken up multiple suspects. It pained Reeve a little that the mission had been to parts so successful because Shin-Ra had been able to obtain a radio frequency from a transmitter they had found hidden in the flat of a spy who had – allegedly – tried to murder Rufus. But it had still been WRO who had found out which bridge had actually been meant, it had still been his people who had waited outside in the night and captured the terrorists – alive and mostly unharmed. Shin-Ra had captured a terrorist too, they had claimed, but Tseng had related to him that (for whatever reason) someone had bashed in said person's skull.

So, that was good news. Besides, the parliament in town was almost finished now, and there had a hint where Scipione and Fontainebleau might be hiding. If it had not been for _Sulfur_, it would have been smooth sailing for WRO.

His mobile gave a ring as he climbed from the car into the cooled garage of WRO tower.

"Tifa Lockheart," his secretary informed him when he picked up.

Reeve nodded, solemnly, and hoped very much that Cloud had followed his advice and called Shin-Ra. The doors to the elevator closed in front of his bodyguards whom he did not even seem to notice anymore these days. "Put her through, please."

After what had happened on the roof, he could not but agree that it was a smart idea not to involve Tifa in that business with the children. He could very well understand how Cloud had acted. Wished he had the courage to act the same way, sometimes. How could the children have been so silly to run off to Shin-Ra of all people?

"Reeve here, we're connected," he informed the other end after a moment of nothing but static. Or were that cars or some kind of other noise that was going on in the background? The elevator admitted him to his own story where – crossing to his office – he gave a polite nod to his secretary.

"Hello, Reeve...," the other end replied and Reeve knew immediately that something was wrong, closed the doors to the serenely cool office behind him. On the other side of the panels, the desert was blazing, the town baking in the furious sun.

"Hello, Tifa! Is something wrong – are the kids okay? They weren't treated badly, were they? I..."

"No, no, Reeve, don't worry. I think the children are alright... I'm on my way to get them, anyway. They should be alright."

"Oh... why... ? Didn't Cloud want to come with you?"

"No. He didn't."

Tifa's answer was so stone cold that it made his heart ache like it had used to ache every time he had seen her in the last few months. That cold knowledge that she had done something again which he would not like. She had been so reasonable before. He had used to admire every action, but now... ever since she had met Shin-Ra. It was as if everything that came into touch with them got painted black. Well, maybe. He knew that neither the Turks nor Rufus were evil exactly, but for his liking, they were far too much on the dark side of morality. He had thought they would change, had firmly believed so, months ago, but ever since Tifa had gotten involved with them, he had the feeling that he was seeing them clearer. All their double games. He might have even forgiven them trying to regain what they had lost, but he could not forgive them how much they were trying to manipulate Tifa. That they had tried to seperate her from Cloud.

"Tifa, no, I mean... I can understand that he was jealous, but... I don't think he's still angry after what happened two weeks ago. I mean, things were pretty clear, weren't they?" And Rufus had shown colours at last. "You should talk to him again."

Tifa laughed and the laugh made him feel cold. "You are always trying to make things right again, Reeve."

"Can't they? Tifa, you should talk to him about it."

"Reeve... did you know that he wasn't at home?" There was something predatory in Tifa's voice.

"I kind of assume that he wasn't there when he didn't pick up the phone."

"And you didn't call me, then?"

"Rufus – Rufus said he didn't want to involve you." He had to admit that Rufus usually had good ideas. However much he disliked it.

"I see," Tifa's voice came pretty displeased through the phone and Reeve was relieved that the last encounter with Rufus had cured her of any sympathetic notions she had held for that man. Or was she peeved that he had not told her? No, certainly she could not be. Perhaps, it had been a mistake to put so much trust into Rufus. His payments to WRO were thinning already. Like any good will he had shown. Reeve could not blame Cloud for being angry with Tifa. When Cloud had left, Shin-Ra had still been evil, only to return to a world where everything had changed. Where his children ran away to his long-term enemies and his maybe-ex-girlfriend most likely involved with his, well, not arch-enemy but at least the evil prince of the last empire. That was certainly enough to drive a man mad.

"Well, anyway," Tifa said. "I'm going to pick up the children now and get into hiding with them. Cloud said that it is possible that the New Geostigma terrorists are after Denzel, too."

"Okay?" Reeve felt a little overrun by that news. He could understand that the terrorists wanted to take down Shin-Ra, but could not see what that had to do with Cloud's and Tifa's children. He would have done anything to stop those terrorists from destroying even more – if only he could. But even after they had captured those who had tried to blow up that bridge, none of them could be persuaded to tell where their headquarter was.

Tifa gave a sigh at the other end of the telephone. "Cloud got involved with them and says they are after the souls of New Geostigma patients."

Reeve rubbed the bridge of his nose, feeling irritated. He hated how Tifa was calling them 'New Geostigma'. Just like Shin-Ra. As if she did not know that WRO was terming them 'White Geostigma' terrorists. It annoyed him, too, that all his runaway patients might not have run away after all but been abducted and killed again. He had just ceased to worry about them. And now... all the power he would have to put into finding them, into making sure they were save, all the worries he would have to live through again. All the suffering they had to endure. Why could there not have been an end to it after the riot? Why were still police reports coming in of people with white spots who had been robbed, beaten or spit at? Why were their anti-discrimination spots on television not working? He hoped they would soon be able to put an end to those misdoings.

"That's bad news," he replied. "I'll increase the security for the patients." He hesitated a moment. When Rufus had called, he should have told him straight away that he, Reeve, would come himself to pick the children up and take them home! What had they been thinking? Why had they not come to him, first? He could have helped them! "But between you and Cloud everything is alright?"

The other end of the telephone became rather quiet.

"Tifa?" Reeve asked carefully. He had a feeling that he had said something not quite right. Maybe, he thought, he should have been more sympathetic?

"We are taking a break," Tifa finally replied coldly.

In Reeve's experience, 'break' usually meant something like: 'we're over but I don't want to hurt your feelings'. "Oh," he made, feeling rather sad. "That's – I'm so sorry, Tifa! - Is there anything...?"

"No," the reply came immediately. "I just wanted to tell you that... well, I'm gonna pick up the children and then, I'm going to go and see Barret. So... I'm not going to be around for a while. I'm still going to try and find out more about _Sulfur_, but if I find something, I'll sent it in by post. I wanted to sent someone to talk to people at the plants, anyway, and _Sulfur_ bought up all the wind-energy-parks in the area where Barret is..."

"I could try to talk to Cloud," Reeve tried to offer. He did not like to think that Tifa and Cloud should end after such a short time.

"Don't. I don't want you to get involved. It's... we both just need to find our center again. Cloud needs to find out that Shin-Ra isn't exactly all evil and I – well, I need to find a few things myself. I'm... I'm really not calling for help, Reeve. Just... well, just to tell you what happened so you know, and so you know that I'll go scouting for a few weeks."

"What about the bar?"

He could hear Tifa breath in. "I don't know. Maybe... well, maybe I'll decide to stay where Barret is. Would be good for Marlene to be close to him for a while longer and … well, people always need a bar, and I've still got some money. Both to built up a new one or to reopen the old on."

"Please don't stay with Shin-Ra. You don't owe them anything," he emphasised, suspecting that Tifa might be tempted into staying if Shin-Ra said something about 'obligations'.

The other end of the phone was silent for another moment, then, Tifa gave a sigh. "I don't think they'd demand anything like that."

"Well," Reeve did not know what to add and did not know if Shin-Ra would not. They most certainly knew that Tifa was feeling guilty about leaving for Cloud, and Rufus was going to try and make use of that. Not that he thought Tifa had done anything wrong. But Shin-Ra would bask in feeling even as little right as they were in that case. For once. Still, Tifa sounded very much as if she had indeed only called to tell him what was going on but... on the other side, she still sounded so very, very sad. On the other hand, she had made it quite clear that she did not want him to do anything and he honestly did not know, either, what that would have been. If he was certain of one thing, then, that Tifa would find a way. "I wish you good luck, then."

"Thank you, that is really kind of you, Reeve."

The phone went dead on him and he just looked at his table for a while. Tifa and Cloud... if he had been asked to foretell one thing when watching Avalanche through Cait Sith, he would have said that Tifa would end up with Cloud. But... maybe, Cloud had just given in because he needed someone to be with and Tifa had been chasing a dream. At least, he was glad that Tifa had not ended up with Rufus.

Maybe, he should warn Shin-Ra and tell them that Tifa was coming? He contemplated for a moment and then decided against it. Don't give Rufus time to prepare. Who knew how he would try to utilise Tifa if he had been warned about her arrival. Maybe, he should have at least given Tifa a call and warned her about the rumour that was making its rounds in Edge ever since last week. Of course, it was nonsense. There was no way that she could have had twins with Rufus. It was clear that it related directly to Denzel's and Marlene's arrival and that Cloud could not have been influenced by such nonsense.

He hoped it had.

He was not sure it was just a rumour. After he had found out that Rufus had been at Tifa's bar while he had thought him gone, he had suspected many a thing. And still did. It would explain why Cloud was so angry about Shin-Ra and why Rufus did not seem to give a damn about Tifa anymore.

He should have warned Tifa. He should have told her that Rufus was not a man who was interested in more than just conquering her. Because, in this world, as much as it had turned and changed, he doubted very much that a man like Rufus was capable of true affection for anyone but himself.

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_Thank you again for reading._

_Please review._


	47. Stay or Leave

_Since the last chapter was rather a bit short and since I've found a bit of time, I've managed to complete the next chapter a tad bit early (oh, and I sort of solved my Latex-problem). _

_Thank you very much again for all of your lovely reviews again!_

_**SansaStark**: Thank you very much! I think you mention a valid point indeed if you're asking why the children are trusting Shin-Ra as much as they are although both their families have been killed by it. It will be addressed in this chapter._

_Please enjoy._

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Chapter 47: Tifa: Stay or Leave

_24. April, Thursday_

The air was yellowish. The wind was blowing into the faces of those who waited on the platform. It scorched the skin, dried away the sweat, split the lips and lay dust onto the tongue. The train's breaks were screeching, slowing it down, the rasping wind drove the sand through the smallest gaps in the wood. It was hot outside and the suitcase was heavy.

Tifa waited for the passengers to leave the train into the blazing air and harsh wind that propelled the dust up and let the sand tumble, jumping against the legs. The dried out wood of the platform creaked under her feet, the sign, worn by wind and sand, spelled in half erased letters 'Whitefall' in her back. Tifa's hand was wormed around the handle of the backpack as she climbed into the train, the hot air around her filled with that bitter smell that coated the tongue she always associated with train rides.

For a moment, just as a woman with two cages of chickens left the train, she wondered whether she should not just turn around and ride back to Edge. If she should not just give back the tickets and tell the man in his stuffy cubical that it had all been a mistake. Now was still time. Once she had climbed the train – once the doors had banged shut behind her, the train would pass through the mountains and bring her to Junon. With no way back to Cloud.

"Well, lady, it's either leave or stay!" a voice said behind her. "Can't wait all day till you made up your mind!"

A hot puff of scorching wind drove into her clothes and she nodded as the wind tasselled her hair. As if there still was a way back. "I'm leaving." Her hand closed around the grip and she pulled herself into the compartment of the Midgar-Junon-Express, the wagon's wood rough under her boots. The train route that should have been bombed away by the terrorists and had not, thanks to Reeve and maybe, maybe, also thanks to Shin-Ra's intelligence.

She realized her palms were sweaty when she pushed the door to a tinier compartment open. Outside, the train attended blew his whistle, the doors banged close and the train hooted before it slowly stamped into motion, the smell of coal and vapour mixing with the upcoming sandstorm.

The compartment was empty and she took a seat on one of the wooden benches. Marlene and Denzel must have travelled to Junon like this, too. She felt her bad consciousness again, scolded herself how she could have lost sight of the children so badly. The thought that the children might have been sitting here – alone, on those wooden benches, while the train tracks rumbled away – filled her with deepest pity and embarrassment. Even if she had fought with Cloud – she should have taken better care of the children!

This should have never happened.

A gush of scorching air rattled the windows and she tasted the sand between her teeth. It was hot and stuffy inside the train but with that upcoming yellow-grey wall, she was not going to be so foolish as to open a window... they would be lucky if the train was quick enough to escape the worst of the storm.

It rattled onwards over the railways, the wooden bench was uncomfortable.

As uncomfortable as she was used to from the wood-class of the Shin-Ra trains.

Why, oh, just why had the children had to go to Shin-Ra instead of anyone else? How could Denzel, whose family had been killed when the plate had been dropped, and Marlene, whose parents had also been killed by Shin-Ra, even think of going to Shin-Ra?

Because, that logical voice in her head she hated so much nagged, everyone else would have sent them home, and you would have just scold them and things would have gone on like before. Because the fight with Cloud just had to escalate one of these days. Because then, Cloud would have never told you about up north. Because Marlene was still too young to realise what they had done. If Denzel said people were okay to like, she would. And Denzel - she could not blame Denzel. Rufus could not have won the boy's loyalty in any better way than saving his life. He could not have won _her_ good opinion in any better way. The bad consciousness was eating at her inside, the dry sand burning in her eyes. There was nobody but her in this compartment, opposite of her just that sun bleached wooden wall and the smell of dust, the bitter taste of the train, the remains of someone's sweat hanging in the air. She did not even want to imagine the children riding here.

But out of all the bad outcomes, this was maybe the least worse. The Turks and Rufus had always been more or less nice to the children and she was certain that they were actually going to take rather good care of the children. Elena with her strange kindness, Rude who had surprised her so much with telling her about a younger sister... Rufus.

She had been so determined to go and defend them against the terrorists after all that Cloud had said. Now, after she had talked to Reeve, she was not anymore. Reeve did not seem to like the idea that she should stay there. She knew he did not quite trust Rufus, but still. Maybe, he was right. Maybe it was indeed not her place to be. Would they even want her to stay and protect? She doubted it more and more. Most likely, they just wanted her to pick up the children and be gone. All the calls to Cloud had tasted a lot like they wanted nothing to do with her anymore at all.

And then, there was Cloud. While she was not sure how she felt about them taking a break – but relieved – it felt somewhat like betrayal to be running to Shin-Ra and staying there.

She really did not want to know what kind of stories Cloud had heard about Shin-Ra that made him so damn frightened for her... which stories could be worse than dropping the plate. What kind of abnormalities they had not yet heard about. She could not bring herself to believe that Rufus would have had all his rivals killed after he had become president. There would not have been any reason in the world afterwards. She did not even know if she could believe all he had said. If it weren't just rumours. Surely, there were a lot of people who still resented Shin-Ra. Surely, they were still a lot of people who had been wronged by Shin-Ra in any possible way. But - did they have to go over dead bodies and become criminals for their own revenge? How could the soul of anyone - anything - be the ingredient to a potion? What mission on Gaia justified brewing such a potion?

Another gush was rattling the train, sand sizzling in through every implausible hole. She got out a handkerchief, went to wet it at the compartment's hot water supply to cover nose and mouth.

Why, oh, just why had she been foolish enough to start believing in Shinra? Why had she been so utterly stupid to kiss him, offer her him a roof and a bed to sleep in? Why, why on Gaia had she not been able to just turn off her sense of right and wrong as she had done so many times before? All she had needed to do would have been to agree completely with Cloud. Not to defend Shin-Ra for one instance, one moment.

To lie.

After leaving for Cloud, it should have been so easy. Or maybe it had been so difficult because she had just left for Cloud without even telling Rufus. Why had she not just been able to lie?

How could she have been so stupid to let things with Cloud come that far? How could she have been so stupid to – be truthful? To get him to strife that much?

Maybe, the air was becoming harder to breath, maybe it was just her own misery. She had wanted so much to make things right again with Cloud, had hoped so much that it would, eventually, work out again. That he would understand. That things would be alright again.

And all that because of what?

For just one kiss in the rain.

The air was becoming almost unbreathable, she close her eyes against the dust that was hurting so much in her eyes.

He had been so soaked, so cold, so warm, so lost. As if, stripped down to the last, he would choose his friends over his company or his own life, and realising that had completely disorientated him.

So lost.

She had no idea how to face him after all that happened. He had made it so abnormally clear what he thought of her.

Maybe, maybe Reeve had been right and people who came into contact with him just ended up getting incredibly hurt.

\\

The wind was warm but fierce when the train left her in almost twilight back on the platform in Junon. It blew under her clothes, let her shiver and draw her coat closer. It carried the smell of sea, the vile brew that sloshed in the harbour – and burned out fire.

Junon looked like nothing it had used to. Great parts had just – disappeared. Burned to black ashes, carried away in the harsh wind. Only the gate to Shin-Ra's headquarter was still as uninviting as before, lit in harsh light. She doubted that she would find a friendly dolphin today which would help her infiltrate the company.

The train stole from the station, leaving her under the faint lights, staring over through all that barbed wire at the main gate of Shin-Ra, Inc.

She was afraid. Afraid because she could not quite staunch the memories of what had happened here the last time she had been inside that building – afraid she would see that chamber again. Afraid because she had no idea how to face the people up there. Afraid to face the children who had run from her. Afraid to see Rufus again.

She would just get the children and disappear again. One hour. A short 'thank you', get the children to pack their stuff and they would be off for the oil fields. She would, of course, warn Shin-Ra. She doubted, however, they were not warned yet.

The mild wind was making her freeze by the time she had reached the gate.

The guard was studying her suspiciously, the harsh light glaring down from all those floodlights.

"What do you want?" he yelled when she had come close enough to yell. He was pointing a gun, she noticed. Maybe, he was afraid she would blow him up, she thought.

She stopped in the pile of hostile light.

"I'm here to pick up my children... name's Lockheart," she said and thought it irrational in the same moment that she gave her surname. Shin-Ra, that was the Turks. The Turks never used their surnames. Even Rufus never did.

The guard glared at her, and in the same moment, a smaller door opened and two other armed men came out.

"Passport!" the first one demanded, obviously encouraged by his backup. Tifa was not sure he was aware that three men posed no threat to her.

She had already prepared for some precautions like this, so she fingered her passport out asking herself how it was actually going to keep them save if she were a terrorist and had a fake one. Or a real one and a dying wish.

The three men grouped around her passport, studied her, started a discussion, started grinning broadly and handed her her passport back.

"Follow me," one of them said who seemed to be a little more responsible than the others.

Tifa felt her heart sinking when she followed the man through the heavy gate into the weighty bunker building. But if she had hoped she would be brought directly to Rufus, she was much mistaken. She was placed in an office to wait after which followed another office in which she was supplied with a coffee for which she had to answer several questions. A form was filled out, someone used a telephone, she was guided into another office where, again, she was supplied with a new mug of coffee. Those people kept her a little longer, eyed her suspiciously and after about half an hour, she was redirect to yet another office which, at least, was several stories upwards with the elevator.

She waited for almost an hour – very impatient by now – before a friendly young man led her into yet another office which did not held a friendly secretary or a pot of coffee. It was a bigger office with a view of which – it now being dark – was not clear what it showed. The room was tidy to the dot. No paper was lying astray, no plants were standing in any corners, there was just a clock at the wall, files and directories at the other wall and a massive desk in the middle of the room behind which she perceived Elena of the Turks in a heap of chaos.

That fact at least relieved her. Elena was much better than Tseng and if she was seeing her, it meant she was getting somewhere. Elena, Tifa was almost certain, would be angry about the way she had treated Rufus, and she would be open about it which would make it easier to deal with her than with Tseng. And, different from Tseng, she assumed, Elena would actually be open to an explanation.

"Good evening, Elena," she greeted, closing the door behind her. She had never supposed Elena would so tidy. If she was honest, she had never pictured Elena in an office at all. Certainly not in an office were everything was tidy but the tiny spot her work was occupying.

Elena was indeed looking rather surprised. "What are you doing here? - I mean, of course: good evening, what are you doing here?"

She smiled. She liked Elena, the way the woman still seemed way too young for her job. "I'm here to pick up the children."

Elena glared at her. "Why're you here? I thought Cloud was to come for them so you won't have trouble with Cloud, and we won't have trouble with anyone, either."

"Well, yes," Tifa tried to shrug off-handedly. "Turns out Cloud doesn't have time. Turns out Cloud's still feeling a bit illy about you. So, me being here, we _are_ avoiding major trouble." She had thought about it a lot during the train journey and after all Cloud had said, she thought that Rufus could count himself lucky if Cloud stayed calm when he provoked him again. Rufus not provoking a seemingly ready victim seemed almost impossible. So, it was perhaps the wisest choice that she had come after all.

The not-so-very-dangerous glare on Elena's face had given way to a rather puzzled expression. "No time? Um... Since when is Cloud busy?"

"He's doing much more packages now. I think he's also looking into the terrorists," she added almost as an afterthought, seeing that Elena was not very happy about seeing her.

Elena blinked, seemed a little puzzled. "Looking into the terrorists or working with them?" Then, suddenly, her eyes narrowed. "You aren't here for that, are you?"

Tifa almost laughed, saw the movement with which Elena's hand had disappeared to some pocket, felt incredibly hurt simultaneously. Maybe, that was how they felt, too. Wherever they were coming these days, their intentions had to be doubted. She had doubted them too. Many times. She shook her head. "No, of course not. And –" she gave a sigh. "Situation is a little more complicated than that. Cloud's not a terrorist, but his opinion of Shin-Ra is such that I wouldn't want him to come here and pick up the children. So, that's what I'm here for." She was still trying to find a way of telling Elena that the terrorists were after her boss for his soul, too. But however she put it, it sounded just silly even inside her head.

Elena started biting her lip, maybe aware that when Cloud felt so strongly against Shin-Ra and she was standing here being flippant about it, there was not much to fix between them anymore. Suddenly, though, her expression turned sharp again. "You're not here for Shachou, though, are you?"

Tifa felt heat rising. Anger mixed with embarrassment. Anger that Elena could even think that, being dumped by Cloud, she might have made her way back to Rufus, and embarrassment that, after the way she had behaved that maybe was not too far fetched. "No," she replied coolly. "I'm just here to pick up the children, thank you for your efforts and be off again."

Elena gave a nod. "Good. 'Cause if you'll ever dare even try and to suck up to Shachou again, I promise you'll regret it!"

Tifa would have smiled if she still had had the energy for that. Elena looked almost cute uttering that empty threat. And it was actually cute, she being the second Turk who threatened her to stay away from Rufus. It proved that they did care about him – that there was something to care about... and, maybe, which made her feel even more guilty, that she might have actually have hurt him quite a bit. "Don't worry about that. I'm... well, I'm very much aware that I should have solved the situation in another way. I'm very sorry about it – and not because of Cloud but...," she stopped herself. Whatever she was going to say would sound incredibly stupid and, really, Rufus was the last one who had earned an apology for anything. She would just be apologizing for own sake. "I'm just here to pick up the children."

"Well," Elena made, a bit insecure, as it seemed. "You can't pick them up right now... The children, I mean."

Tifa felt a stab. "Why not?"

"They're in bed."

She blinked. "In bed? - It's just nine!"

"Well, it's Thursday, they were supposed to go to school tomorrow..."

School? They had sent them to school already... she did not know what to make of that. She had not expected that. She did not know what she had expected, but not that. "Okay... well, if you tell me in which orphanage you put them, I'll talk to the staff, then. You won't have to bother with me tonight..."

"We didn't put them in an orphanage!" Elena snapped, sounded insulted.

Tifa felt her heart beating against her chest. She would have thought that exactly to be what Shin-Ra would do once confronted with two children. Logically, anyway. But on the other hand, they knew the children and... she felt strangely warm inside at the images that wormed themselves into her head. The memories. Rufus ruffling Denzel's hair. Trying to get him to lie, for Gaia's sake. Would they? "Well, then the family...?"

Elena looked even more insulted. "We are taking care of them! They came to us! They wouldn't have come here if they hadn't felt we would help them! We aren't just some evil company which doesn't live up to their responsibilities! I mean – it might have been a mistake to cause them to think we're good or we'd help them, but – who do you think we are, not to acknowledge that responsibility? Do you really think Shachou would sent a kid whose life he saved into an orphanage or something? Or that Rude would have had that? Or me? Or Tseng? Or Reno?"

Tifa was stunned, felt warm in the same instance, warm and safe. She would have never in life believed that Shin-Ra would one day lecture her on morals, and she would perfectly agree with that. Maybe, maybe Reeve and everyone else was very wrong and Shin-Ra was indeed becoming rather good. Or, much more likely, Rufus was exploring the incident to that aim. Or... possibly both. After all, Rufus had seemed to be not un-fond of Denzel. And Rude and Reno had been fond of the children, too... it would have been a brilliant plan if it had not been for Cloud who – at least at the moment – would definitely not take anything Shin-Ra did kindly. It almost made her smile, the idea that those Turks – that Rufus, too, had just provided her children with a home and been kind to them.

"Um... okay, that is very kind of you indeed...," Tifa commented, tried not to smile too broadly and asked herself what was going to happen now. How... well, how actually nice!

"Um...," Elena made after a moment. She seemed to feel embarrassed about being thanked, and looked at her watch for about the tenth time during their meeting. "Actually, I don't have much time. I... well, I've got to be present at the interrogation of the girl who tried to kill Rufus... she's awake now..."

"Who wanted to kill Rufus?"

"Servant, NGP, terrorist, you know... but, really...," she took a look at her watch, a little insecure. "I'm going to call Tseng... maybe, he knows what to do about you...?"

"I just need to pick up the children and be gone and it would be good if I did so before Cloud can find me here." Cloud was not violent, far from it. He only fought when he really, really had to, not before that. But after all that had passed between them, she doubted more and more if he was going to just swallow it if she staid here.

Elena looked at her, picking up the telephone. "Might be better if you talked to Tseng. I mean, we can't sent you away again, just because it's after nine in the evening." She only said it silently but she did say it and Tifa missed neither the 'again' nor Elena's glare into her direction. Since when had Elena stopped avoiding conflicts? Since when did she actually refer to Tseng without any suffix? And where was that dry pragmatism coming from?

"This is Elena... Tifa is here... yeah, I know. … Wants to pick up the children now, says there's some trouble with Cloud... hm, okay... yeah... what about Shachou?" For a while, Elena seemed to listen to whatever the other end of the line had to say. A blush was slowly forming on her face, followed by a broad smile. "Yes, of course... see you!"

She turned her head to Tifa, her face still heated with that smile. "Tseng-san tells me to bring you upstairs." She got up. "I'm sorry, but I really got to hurry, they'll start soon."

Tifa nodded and got up, too. She felt very unwanted. Exactly as unwanted as she had felt when she had visited Shin-Ra Inc. in winter. There, too, she had had to wait for hours, only to end up talking with Tseng and Rufus. Then, she had been together with the children and she still remembered the desperation that had made her look for Cloud. The hate she had felt when the door had opened and admitted Rufus and Tseng to the room. The fright when that stupid storm had forced her to stay the night.

This time, Elena led her over several staircases and through an elevator into a small room with a table, two couches, a TV and kitchenette. The room looked very much like the small common room she seen only shortly that night in which Denzel had tried to murder Rufus. It looked a little less new and would have been almost as impersonal if it had not been for the two bags that were standing next to a couch, both of which she recognized with an almost painful pang. One of them was open and Marlene's crayons were almost falling out. There was a half finished picture on the table, neatly put on top of Marlene's colouring book. One of Denzel' pullovers was lying neatly folded at the edge of the sofa. It was astonishing how a few pieces of two childrens' belongings could animate an entire room. Even if it looked completely surreal in its order. Marlene and Denzel never kept things that tidily. She felt her stomach twist. It looked almost as if those pieces had been placed there on purpose. Or if someone had tidied them up.

Tseng was standing in the middle of the room, greeting her with a cold frown but Elena with a smile that almost seemed warm.

"I'll offski, then!" Elena said. "See you later!"

Tseng gave her just a short nod and an even shorter smile that, much to Tifa's surprise, was even warmer than the first. Then, he turned to her and the entire warmth faded from his features.

"Good evening, Miss Lockheart."

"Good evening," she replied.

"Please, take a seat," he pointed at the couch, a stern and immobile Turk, the other hand still folded behind his back. He waited until she had indeed seated herself before he took a seat opposite of her, and Tifa felt suddenly cold. Tseng, so much was obvious, was in no way happy about her appearance.

"Elena hinted there is some trouble with Cloud and that is why you want to pick the children up today?"

Tifa told him shortly what had happened which left the Turk frowning.

"So, if I understand you correctly, you are here to pick up the children and you fear that..."

In the same moment, the door to the common room opened. "Tseng, what about Scipione's... ?" Rufus stopped half in the doorway as soon as he had set eyes on her, and Tifa almost jumped at his sight. She had expected that the Turks had arranged it in such a way that their boss would not make an appearance. Having thought that she actually welcomed that fact, she realized now that she had been hoping the see him – to perhaps be able to talk to him. But Rufus did not look pleased. Or well, as a matter of facts. While his Turks had already looked worn, he did so to an even greater extend, eyes almost bloodshot, an impression that mostly disappeared with the look of surprise on his face. It was followed by something that clearly was not joy, rather looked close to anger, and for a moment, he seemed to contemplate how to react exactly which perhaps was much more a sign of exhaustion than any expression he might have worn. She would have given a world now to know what exactly was going on in his head, but had rarely felt as relieved – as happy – as when his face turned into a rather friendly expression:

"Miss Lockheart, good evening. To what to we owe the – visit?" He closed the door behind him entirely and entered.

For a moment, it was her who did not know how to react. The friendly expression and tone made her feel so very welcome, so very warm suddenly like she had not felt in weeks. Which was strange as there had been not much true friendliness in his tone. She had never thought the choice of a single word could matter, either. But he did clearly avoid to term her visit 'pleasurable' as he still had when she had come to visit in winter.

"She is here to pick up the children."

"Now, that's rather evident, isn't it? I mean: why are you here and not Cloud?"

"Cloud sympathises with the terrorists," Tseng explained very calmly. "Tifa just told me that they might want to kill you. Most likely, because he thinks you'd like to destroy the world all over again. I think it could also be because of a rumour that makes you father of her twins."

Rufus looked, if possible, dumbfounded. Then, a weary smirk crossed his face. "Thinking really doesn't seem to be his strong side, now, does it?"

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_Thank you very much again for reading. Next chapter: Rufus: A Matter of Manners._

_Please review._


	48. The Turn of the Screw

_The first chapter of a very stressful evening._

_Thank you very much again for all of your lovely reviews again! You can't imagine how much you're always making my day!_

_**Novae-rog-tala:** Thank you very much. Are Rufus and the Turks good guys who've done bad things or bad guys who've done bad things? Of course, you're right in that sense that I'm not making Rufus and the Turks all evil so it's still possible to identify with them or the people who like them. I wouldn't, however, go as far as to call them 'decent'. In my opinion, you just don't do bad things if you're good, and if you are decent, you'll regret them afterwards. But that's only my opinion, of course ^^_

_**The Dark Knight sparda09:** Ah, thank you very much! I was already getting worried that I made the Turks&Rufus too nice._

_Please enjoy._

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Chapter 48: Rufus: The Turn of the Screw

_24. April, Thursday_

The night had actually not started badly. The children were starting to learn about adequate table manners, Marlene had almost been sleepy enough to fall asleep before she had been put to bed, and Denzel had not complained, either.

Rufus was sure he had known it would be a mistake to save the boy's life, and indeed, it had left him with rather a liking for that kid and his sister. At least, after they had learned to obey a little better which had been after having had to go without dessert or TV or being read to twice or thrice because of insubordination. And it was actually quite delightful to think of things the children might like which one could – if they misbehaved – take away again. Plus their going to bed provided a welcome distraction before he had to go back to work again. Tonight, that had been Tseng's pleasure and if Cloud continued to ignore their phone calls, it would be his duty again tomorrow.

The rest of the day had almost been good; _Sulfur_ was – which for once was good news – making great progress, and as much as he mistrusted Veld, the man had been the right choice. WRO had confirmed that they had captured about ten terrorists the day before yesterday when the terrorists had tried to blow up a bridge of the Junon-Midgar Express - presumably while such a one was riding over it. Also, Ennio Scipione's body had been found. It was the first trace in weeks they had had of Scipione and the Fontainebleaus and while dead people were not too talkative, Scipione had obviously been executed only hours before but he looked as if he had not had such a hard life in between which made things rather interesting; who would be sympathetic enough to take in nobles only to kill them later? Not that he cared much. They would figure out eventually and if it proved unpleasant, they would punish the culprits.

However, the evening turned quite less delightful when he returned to the common room in order to ask Tseng about Scipione; the common room did not only yield Tseng, but quite another late night visitor.

He had not expected Tifa to come. Had hoped that she would not even realise where the children were before Cloud picked them up. Had hoped that she would agree after her strange call and sent Cloud. And yet, there she was. In dusty traveling gear, much too short, of course, of this time of the year, although it was baking hot outside, but not on the worst side of her choice of clothing. Quite decent, actually, quite good looking. Her eyes, when they met, those dark eyes he had tried so hard to forget about, were full of surprise. No distrust in them and suddenly full of a quickly hidden joy which accelerated his foolish heart. It seemed – seemed to him – that she was actually happy to see him.

The realisation, together with the force in which his mind suddenly made evident how much it had longed to see her again, unbalanced him completely for a very long moment. He had no idea how to react. So he did what he had been trained to do: be all arrogant politeness. In the meantime, he tried to calm his joyfully beating heart into some sense which was not helped by the surprised and happy smile he got from Tifa in return. As if she actually cared about being treated friendly by him. … Well, of course she did. While he had reasons to dislike her for leaving for Cloud, she had no reason to dislike him – apart from whatever they had done in the past – rather on the contrary. People seemed to be fond of people who had happened to be in love with them. Well, normal people, anyway.

Tseng's comment that Cloud had joined hands with the terrorists because he, Rufus, was all evilness, and that Tifa was coming because she did not want Cloud to come into any contact with them unbalanced him even further, made worse by that strange rumour Tseng quoted. It all indicated that Cloud's and Tifa's relationship could not be going extremely well. Which would be to his own benefit.

"Now, thinking doesn't seem to be Cloud's strong side, is it?" he tried staunched the uprising joy and hope inside him. It would be more than stupid to hope.

"Cloud isn't stupid," Tifa almost snapped. It was strange that it was a frown that turned her quite bland face into something beautiful. "And you could show it bit more thankfulness. It was still him who brought the medicine that healed you!"

Rufus let his lips quirk disdainfully, was not going to admit that he was anything close to thankful about being healed. Not thankful to Cloud, anyway. "Now, as far as I'm aware, I got that vial not by his mercy but as a pay off. Besides, Cloud can't be very smart if he has been allowed to the exams for Soldier. However, I admit that it reflects positively on his mental capacities that he wasn't ever accepted." He flicked his hair, and, yes. He still had it in him. Tifa looked furious.

"Soldier was manned from the best and most promising members of the army!" she retorted. "Just because you think he doesn't want to know that what we've done as Avalanche was terrorism, he's not stupid! In fact..."

"Miss Lockheart. Please. Not even my father would have been vacuous enough to turn smart people into super-soldiers. They tend to think for themselves, you know? Stupid people rarely do. The stupider the more likely to accept all kinds of orders... well, if you brainwash them, anyway."

Tifa smiled sweetly at him. "And what kind of orders _would_ you have given, Rufus Shinra?"

He turned away from that smile, not able to bear it, not able to bear those silly emotions in his head. "You know exactly what kind of orders I would have given. However, the question is: would I still give them now?"

"And, would you?"

"Now, of course not. - Would you like some tea?"

"Yes, please," Tseng replied, most likely trying his best to help steer the conversation into another direction. But before he could say anything else, Tifa continued quietly: "And why wouldn't you? Because it'd reflect badly on you if you did and you can't do with a bad reputation nowadays?"

He stared at the open cupboard in front of him, knew that Tseng was holding his breath behind him, could not read the labels on the tea boxes. He did not like the rising happiness inside him, would have liked to knock his head against some wall to stop it from rising, to stop himself from leading this conversation, to stop himself from thinking about which reply would be closest to the truth but not collide with her morals. To stop himself from enjoying it. Giving in to that joy. He forced himself to choose which he thought to be the truth which would, most likely, make him even less dear to her than any other reply. He hated that jumble of feelings, the fight he had to put up with, was too tired to want to fight, too tired of that fight, anyway. "It wouldn't be good for my company and the people who work for it."

Tseng gave a sigh and Rufus could virtually see him turning his eyes. He was well aware that he should not utter those kind of thoughts in any presents but his Turks', but everything else would have been too much of a lie for Tifa to swallow; for as little as he liked it, she knew him too well. And it was not as if he wanted her to like him. He wanted her gone. Out of this room, out of his life, out of his mind.

Tifa was silent for a moment and he took out a box of tea, whatever it was, just to keep moving.

"You don't speak the truth unless it truly hurts, do you?" It was a statement not a question and in the same moment as the water started boiling, Rufus realised that he was asking himself how that had been meant. If she was thinking he was lying or if she thought he had just spoken an ugly truth. And if so, which truth she thought he had actually uttered but the mere words.

"Now, aren't you here to talk about your children instead of philosophy?" He almost burned his fingers on the kettle.

"Yes... I'm here for the children." She did not sound exactly happy. Disappointed.

"I don't think it's a good idea if she takes the children away with her," Tseng put forward. Rufus looked at him, over his shoulder and rather surprised. Judging by Tseng's entire demeanour, he wanted Tifa out of the room and most of all out of his presence. He himself would be more than relieved if this was over. "Not? Wasn't that the entire point of bringing her here?"

"Judging by the rumours, half the country knows by now that they are here. If she takes the children with them and does not return to Cloud, rumour will be that Shin-Ra's responsible for their separation."

"You aren't going back to Edge?" Rufus demanded. So Tseng thought the children would keep them safe from whomever Cloud had teamed up with. He tried hard to remember what kind of tea he had taken and if the water needed to cool. Most of all, he tried very hard not to let that train of thoughts run away with him in which Tifa was just here because she had split up with Cloud. If he was just second choice, he would rather be no choice at all.

Tifa gave a sigh. "Cloud and I are taking a break. Anyway, according to Cloud, the terrorists want to murder Denzel for his soul. I'd be stupid to take him somewhere where they'd know where he is."

"I see." Rufus replied as naturally as possible. 'Break' was nothing but another word for 'we're over but maybe, we can still f**k from time to time until I found someone else'.

"The more I think it's a bad idea to let you go with the children," Tseng said, almost calmly.

"I agree," Rufus nodded. "The children are safer here." Where she went to, he certainly did not give a damn about. But maybe, he should really just hand the children over. Then, he would get rid of her for good. But he was not entirely sure if he really wanted that and Tseng was very much right with implying what he did; if the children were here, Cloud was unlikely to join the terrorist when they came to kill him. But Cloud might come to kill him all by himself if they kept the children. Tricky.

"Well, you're certainly not going to keep my children!" Tifa snapped, the threat thick in her voice.

"They aren't yours. You never formally adopted them." Maybe, Tifa was right and he did like to point out truths when they truly hurt. Or when they were likely to get him killed.

Tifa was suddenly standing. "You don't have the power to take them away. Not even with a farce like that!"

Rufus turned around and studied her, as coolly as possible, as coolly as ever he could. He knew that white hot fury that was sparkling in her eyes and felt the same fury inside him. First, the kids were just palmed off on them – not, first, she just went after that Cloud, without anything but that infernal vial and then, her stupid children shew up on his doorstep, begging to be kept because they could not bear it at home anymore, because he had been _stupid_ enough to help them for her. And now, she came here and wanted to take the children away and leave them with all the trouble to clean away! Possibly tons of trouble because she was unable to deal with the situation she had chosen. "Now, Miss Lockheart. Those ill-mannered horrors won't go anyway. First at all, they turned up on my doorstep and begged me for asylum because they couldn't stand to be with you or your Cloud anymore. Secondly, I don't believe you if you say that your Cloud is just 'watching the terrorists'. At least not anymore. You clearly walked out on him and obviously, he will think that's my fault. He'll have a score to settle. And that means – even if he's controlled enough not to hurt any of my people – that I'll have a mob of terrorists at my doorstep demanding my death and, really, I have enough trouble on my plate already not to deal with yet another angry mob plus your superhero. Thirdly – no, don't interrupt me – thirdly, what do you think you're doing to those brats, dragging them from one place to another? Weren't you the one who once told me that children needed a stable environment to grow up? I can't see much of that. First, you shuttle them between home and Reeve. Then, finally settled at home, you're forcing them to run away to here, they are just trying to settle in here and you want to run off to who-knows-where? I don't call that a stable surrounding!"

Tifa glared at him and suddenly, he could see the same weariness glowing in her eyes as he felt burning inside him, the same fury in her eyes, the same hurt. "Don't even dare to act so much holier-than-you, Shinra! Don't give me any shit about 'how the children will suffer' – you don't give a damn! All you care about is that your bloody company won't come to any harm! All you care about is that Cloud won't appear on your doorstep! You want to use them as a shield and that's not going to happen! I will leave and I will leave with my children!"

Rufus hated being shouted at by anyone. He hated being threatened. He hated being shouted at by her in particular. He hated all those accusations people could not stop throwing at them however much they tried. He hated Avalanche's hypocrisy, those fools who were dumb enough to believe it, he hated being involved into that stupid fight between Tifa and Cloud that had nothing to do with him, he hated her for choosing Cloud and not even telling him to his face. He hated her for kissing him and for the entire idiocy of the situation. He hated her for those feelings inside him and loved to argue back. Loved to see that fury in her eyes and see her hurt, loved every movement that she made, her voice and its panic in it when he had told her that the children were not hers. Loved the fire that was flaring so full of exhaustion, loved that she was fighting back, not blinking her eyelashes and telling him that Cloud would come and save her, loved that dark hair and just about any movement she made, was hurt by her words, afraid that she would leave again, sick with the situation, tired, happy, angry, worried, exhausted, puzzled, frustrated, elated, knew not what he was thinking, feeling or what was even going on in his head that was exploding, shortly before rebooting. He just knew he had long since lost whatever ground he had had under his feet at the start of the evening and that he was so very, very furious about everything that had happened.

"Right," he said, knew he was hissing the word, knew he could not trust himself to say another thing if he did not want to loose control, dug his fingers into the counter not to draw his weapon and shoot, not to slam them onto the counter, not to loose control. Knew he could not run from the room, either, to cool off, knew it took nothing more than a single drop to blow whatever control he still had.

"Right?" Tifa echoed. "Is that all you have to say?"

"That is all we have to say," Tseng suddenly interjected. He had somehow, calm as he was, slipped up and Rufus could feel his hand digging into his shoulder, the coolness of the metal, the heavy pain that cut through his anger like a knife, like an anchor holding him back in place and the icy metal felt like a sink that slowly, slowly with every breath, brought at least enough sense back to leave both hands around the counter, to stay there and breathe, although he felt the skin on his knuckles splitting.

"Is that all you have to say?" Tifa directed into his direction, advanced, fury also in her eye.

"Miss Lockheart," Tseng said in the same soothing tone he had started in and Rufus knew he was shielding and at the same time blocking him, "you might want to calm down."

"No. But it is all that would be polite to say," Rufus returned, trying to catch himself somewhere in that free fall of maelstrom in his head. Tseng's hand was still closing around his shoulder, again almost painful, closing even farer on this blunt reply.

"You won't dare to take them away. I know we adopted them! Reeve knows! You don't have the right and you won't take it! You've got too much to loose. And you're wrong if you say that they have to stay here to stop rumours or anything. Rumours will be even worse if I leave alone without my children. And then, Cloud _will_ come here, he'll think he has to rescue our children! He heard some horrible things about Shin-Ra up North and he thinks you brainwashed me. So, I think he'd do anything to get the children away from your influence. And don't ever believe I would leave without my children!"

"Don't worry." Rufus could still feel Tseng's metal grip that had slipped down to his wrist. "I don't want to put up with your brats, either."

Tifa glared at him, folding her arms in front of her chest. "What do you want, then?"

Now, that was exactly the question, was it not? He felt his chest tightening. "I want to not to have to care about them because they think me a better choice than you. I want you to leave. But as Tseng has pointed out, that'll mean quite a bit of trouble for us. However, I do get your point, too, which..." He stopped, tried to calm further down, cursed himself inwardly that he had told her to her face that he wanted her to go away. He still felt the anger simmering inside him, tried to staunch it even further, tried not to feel anything at the compact anger that was directed at him from her side. Nothing but satisfaction. "Which means we'll have to find a solution. The first solution I have to offer would be that you leave _with_ the children – tomorrow, but back to Edge. I really don't want to use them as shields. Can't you just return to Edge with them?" There was also the question in which feverish dream he had come across the idea that she might actually want anything else but to take revenge on him for the fact that he had tried to have her executed. For, if he was honest with himself, he would sooner put a bullet through his own head than forgive anyone who had done something like that to him.

And right enough, Tifa stared at him. He could see her eyes widening a little, maybe with even more anger. They were even glittering in this light. "Haven't you listened? Those terrorists want to kill people who're been able to do magic!" she snapped. "Going back to Edge with Denzel is worse than you using them as shields!"

Rufus shrugged. He was way too tired to think of a way. Way too disappointed by that strange realisation. "Then just get Cloud to stride to where ever you'd like to go. You can defend the children better than we can, and Cloud will certainly help you with that." He could not believe he was actually arguing to get her back to Cloud. "Or do you have any other solution?"

"I was actually hoping for your second suggestion," Tifa said. "The first one is crap."

"Ah. That." He looked at her, those eyes that were looking directly at him, without fear, apprehensive. She actually seemed to think that he had a solution. "I'm sorry to disappoint you but I don't have a second solution."

"It would not be as inhuman if you went back to Edge," Tseng interjected. "Rufus is right. You could also stay with Reeve again, his company would be able to protect the children." He handed her a mug of tea and Rufus took the second one, thankful to have something else than the counter to wrap his hand around.

Tifa shook her head. "No. No, it just won't do."

"What then?" Rufus asked laconically.

"I can't go to Reeve. The situation with Reeve is – complicated. Besides, he'd just be trying to repair things between Cloud and me. And what would you win? Nothing. They'd still say it's your fault what happened."

Rufus looked up from his mug. That she was even considering Tseng's lie valid gave him a painful stab. "How kind of you to care about Shin-Ra," he sneered.

"Do you have a better suggestion, then, Miss Lockheart?" Tseng pronounced. Maybe, Rufus thought, Tseng was a little more constructive than he was tonight.

Tifa hesitated. Rufus could see in her expression – knew that expression well – that she had an idea. He hated how he could read her, how every movement in her face made him search for her thoughts, hope for her eyes, hope for a smile, just a kind word. Just like a bloody dog.

"Well," she said after a moment. "I have a – well, not really suggestion...," she looked at them – looked at him even shorter than at Tseng which he hated. "I don't like it very much, though."

"Can't be too bad, then."

Hurt. She actually dared to look hurt at that his comment. "You won't like it, either, Shinra, I promise," she shot back nonetheless, and he was well aware his comment had been more than unfair because she did tend to have very good ideas.

"I could stay," she said. "I mean, if I stayed, Cloud would definitely come here, but he would never fight me. He might try to rescue me, but if I don't want to be rescued, there isn't much he can do. It would, maybe, be the easiest solution. There'd still be rumours, but I think it would paint you in are more positive light if I stayed. I mean, I'm working on _Sulfur_ anyway and I think you're at least as interested in them as Reeve is. It would be best for the children because... well, you are right if you say that they need continuity. … Cloud isn't bad. I think he just heard some very bad stuff about Shin-Ra up north and he's just very worried. He would not do anything to you when I'm here, I think. …. And," she hesitated a moment, "I still have some further information concerning the terrorists that might be interesting for you."

"Hn," Rufus made. Tifa was right. He did not like the suggestion. The last thing he wanted was to have her around and in his proximity every single day. Gaia, he had held the entire argument to keep her from staying. And he did not like to be pressured as she was trying to do now by hinting at some information she might or might not possess. Besides, while he did not mind most rumours in general, he was not going to create any rumour that had him associated with Tifa as long as that was not true.

"I suggested," Tseng said after a moment of silence. His expression made it clear that he did not like the suggestion very much, either, "that we sleep it over and discuss it tomorrow morning. - Let the children have their rest. Let them go to school tomorrow morning, too. Let's all cool off a little and think about solutions."

Tifa hesitated a moment, then nodded. She actually looked disappointed, but most likely that was because they did not let her have the children immediately. She could not possibly want to stay. Not after the way they were treating her. Not after her more than clear statement of opinion when she had chosen Cloud. Not after being deliberately not informed about the whereabouts of the children. Not if she had heard from Cloud what he had said about her.

"Put her into the room next to Elena's. If we should decide on her idea, it would not do to have her sleep in the guest's quarters." Elena's room was the one that was as far away as possible from his.

Tseng frowned but gave a slow nod. "If that is alright for you, Ms Lockheart?"

Tifa seemed to be positively relieved. "Perfectly alright. I'm... thank you."

Tseng inclined his head. "I'll have to ask you to stay here for a while, then, until everything is prepared. If you'd like, you can turn on the TV or we could bring you a book. It'll – there'll be another Turk coming for you."

Rufus almost smirked. Tseng sounded almost as lost as he felt.

"I'll just wait," Tifa nodded.

Tseng gave a short nod and moved towards the door to their quarters, giving her a short look and him a longer one. Rufus knew he was trying to assess if everything was at least as right as it could be regarding the circumstances, and so, he gave his Turk a short nod. The Turk had looked slightly inconvenienced when he had suggested putting Tifa next to Elena's quarters. He hoped it was just some mislead worries about him and pushed himself away from the counter. He was perfectly aware that all social norms required him to stay with Tifa and make her feel comfortable until Tseng had ascertained that she could sleep in that room. But he was not going to do so: "Good. Now, then. If everything is settled, I'd like to get back to work."

She was doing way too many stupid things to his thoughts, anyway.

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_Thank you very much again for reading. Next chapter: Tseng: Interrogation._

_Please review._


	49. Interrogation

_Thank you very much again for all of your lovely reviews! You're really making me incredibly happy with them and it's very encouraging!_

_**SansaStark**__: You're absolutely right! Tifa still needs to find out about _Sulfur_. I'm afraid it'll still take one or two chapters till I can deal with that matter!_

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Chapter 49: Tseng: Interrogation

_24. April, Thursday_

Tseng was relieved when the door finally closed behind him. He was tired of everything that had gone on in there and hope very much that things would go right. If things went as he wanted them to go, Tifa would not stay another night. He had rarely seen Rufus that furious – and that helplessly hurt. Now that Cloud was no option anymore, she was coming back, all excuses, was she? He would do anything in his power to have her thrown out. Although he would be sorry for it, because he actually liked her, despite her stupidity. It was not like they had not treated people worse, Rufus had been too right about that. Yet, if they wanted anyone to forgive them, they had to forgive what were trifles compared to what they had done.

And Tifa seemed to have forgiven them about that execution business. Tseng asked himself how she could have. He, in her stead, would have been incapable of forgiving that. But, maybe, she had learned a lot more from Meteor than they had. Maybe she believed that they had truly changed. Tseng asked himself if they had and was so sick of that question in the same instance. He did not want to think about what they had been before.

He knew that Rufus was ashamed of what he had said before Meteor.

He, himself, was ashamed of the way he had thought of Aerith.

Luckily, Rufus seemed to agree with him that Tifa had to leave as soon as possible. He only did not know what to do with the children. Rufus did not seem to want to let them go which he agreed with. They had looked scared and helpless and tired when they had arrived. They were trying so hard to fit in, Tseng had never seen another pair of children who had been that desperate to please.

Three days ago, Marlene had been close to crying when she had been forced to admit that neither her nor Denzel had heard of one of the books Rufus had brought from the library before. She had looked as if Christmas and birthday had been put together on the same day when Rufus had told them that it could not be helped, then, but that they had to be read that story to. Leaning against the wall Tseng asked himself what Tifa would have thought if she had arrived only half an hour early, when she would have found both children sitting next to Rufus who had – with not much talent, one had to admit that – started reading about all those heroes from children's book. Elena had yesterday and it had been much nicer to listen.

Beautiful Elena.

Maybe, he had caught her scent, maybe he had felt her closing in but he was not surprised to actually look at her when he opened the eyes. She looked so very worried, staring at him.

"Is everything alright, Tseng?" Her voice was soft in the warm air of the corridor.

He gave a sigh. "Yes... well, no. Tifa..." He shrugged. "I just can't understand why she comes here. It's all insanity."

Elena smiled and it was not a smile at all as she came closer. "The entire world seems to be going mad."

"Or just us. I even understand her. Why she treated Rufus that way. At least, I thought I did. It would have been the perfect revenge." Perfect indeed. Tseng supposed that, if one did not want to kill anyone, making Rufus fall in love and dropping him like a hot potato was most certainly the worst thing one could do to him. Only, how did one make people fall in love with oneself?

He felt her slipping her hand into his, a warm forlorn touch, a warm squeeze. "She's not vengeful. I think. I think she just wanted to be happy."

He closed his arms around her small body, so fragile, so warm through the thick cloth, and placed his chin on her shoulder. "Madness."

Elena laughed and if felt more like a sob and he felt her warm breath against his cheek, how his heart was beating just to feel her close. As if she could save him from anything. As if he could save her from that madness out there. Her arms pulled him closer and he felt nothing put her warmth. As save, as satisfied, as happy as he had not felt in years.

He felt a tremor running through her body.

"Is everything alright?"

She hesitated a moment with big, big eyes that he knew so well, that made it so evident that nothing was alright, and he did not know what to do. Then, she shook her head. "I was at the interrogation." A single tear slipped her eyes and fell down onto her cheek.

He did not know how to react, how to protect her if she felt even threatened when he had wrapped his arms around her, and was angry at whoever made her cry. So very angry. "Have they used torture?" He had told them. He had given the order not. It was not alright to use torture. People could not just be tortured.

She shook her head, brushed that single glittering tear away, put her arms back around him, rested her head against his side, and drew in a breath. "No... it's just... why still? What... what on Gaia are we still doing wrong? Haven't we tried to do everything right in the last few years?" She was not even crying and maybe, that was what hurt Tseng most for he knew exactly what she was talking about, had asked himself the same thing ever since the attacks had started again.

"We did everything wrong before," he offered and called himself and idiot in the same moment. That was certainly not going to make things better, and he felt that emptiness creeping up inside him, the question why on Gaia they were still bothering, why they got up again every single time. Why Rufus was still trying. Why _Sulfur_. Emptiness he could not even fill by holding her that close, by feeling her warmth, by stroking through her hair.

"It's... yes, but... haven't we tried? Aren't we making up? Aren't we better now? Rufus – look at Rufus, he's almost working himself to death and they – they still want to kill him! Just like that! I mean... it's not fair! It's just not fair! We tried to stop Kadaj, Tseng! We really tried!" Elena had her head still against his side, spoke away, into the dark, the voice so full of void and so empty of tears, and he just did not know what to do, how to make her feel better, how to make that void disappear. "Without us – if we hadn't hidden that head – what would have become of the planet? - And they, they say we're evil! - You aren't evil, Rufus isn't evil! We aren't monsters! ...I don't want to be a monster, Tseng."

Tseng did not trust himself to reply as he tightened his arms around her. She sounded so frightened – as much afraid as he was to have worked in vain. That, whatever they had done in the last few years, those nights in the moon, Kadaj, Geostigma, all that rebuilding, all that money that went to WRO, all those nights they had worked through, everything they had tried to do, that it was just not good enough. That they would never make up. That he would not be able to protect Rufus and Shin-Ra and the Turks, that all their work had been in vain, and that, one sunny morning, they would all be executed for what had been without one second considering what they had done for redemption.

"We're doing everything we can," he said, holding her tighter, trying, trying so hard and failing not to let that fear escape his eyes.

"I'm sure that'll be enough," she said tightening her embrace for an instance as if to give him courage.

He smiled. "We won't loose."

She just nodded and for a moment, he was still allowed to hold her, savour those strange feelings inside him, before she slowly, reluctantly, let go and looked at him, her face lively and red. "Uh... I wanted to make a tea... do you want to join me?"

"Tifa is in that room," Tseng explained.

"Oh...," Elena made. "well, um..." She seemed a little at loss about what to say and Tseng felt uneasy. After all, it had been him who had invited Tifa in, because everything else would have been too unfriendly.

"Perhaps – that is, if you don't mind... I've got a few chairs in, in my room," he said after a moment of contemplation and eliminating all other options as not feasible. "If you don't mind that is."

Elena paled at first, then blushed scarlet. She was the only person on whom that looked endearing even after the at least thousands time. Even after he had seen her lift a gun and pull the trigger on someone. "No! I mean, I would love to!"

He gave a short nod and felt his heart hammering as if she were the first girl whom he asked in. As if he was actually planning on something to happen. Which, strangely, he did not. At least not... not yet. It was almost frightening to realise that all those years and whatever had happened in the past had made him so careful that he mistrusted even her. Or, maybe, it was because she was not Aerith. Aerith had been pure fire, burning and ravishing longing that one blink of her, one invitation would have been enough to follow. His feelings for Elena were – so much different. Much more of an apprehensive and tender nature. He did not want to scare her, wanted her to feel completely save and comfortable around him. He wanted her to feel happy and secure more than anything else.

He opened the door to his room, studied her as she walked by, so unaware of her own elegance, of the way her short hair swung, how her eyes looked at him hugely, the almost drunken smile she grinned at him as if she was going to faint from happiness for just being invited into his rooms. Yes, he did desire her, too. Very much and even more so when his eyes fell on her tender neck that disappeared slimly in those Turkish untelling clothes with the memory of her warmth and smell still fresh – but now was not the time. Not – not until he was not entirely sure that it was not just a crush, that she would not run off once she saw his scarred body and how his arm was swallowed by the prosthesis. Once she found out what he had done.

She obediently put her shoes out before entering and then stood there, in the middle of his living-room, eyes big with curiosity as she looked around herself. She smiled at him when he entered.

"Please, sit." He pointed at the couch which was facing a TV as it did in all these rooms. He felt slightly embarrassed that he had not changed anything about the way the room had been provided in. It was still the same unit furniture, standing in the same places – not bad, but... impersonal, he thought.

"Uh..., thank you!"

"Do you want something to drink? Tea, maybe?"

She blushed, was sitting on the edge of the couch as if she was not feeling at ease and he suddenly felt extremely nervous and so much wanted her to feel at home.

"Uh... tea would be nice!"

He picked up the electric kettle and went to the bathroom to fill it with water, to quiet his hammering heart, returned with it and place it into its station and when he turned back to her, sitting there on the couch, looking so uneasy, all his won equilibrium was gone again.

"I – will green tea do?"

She nodded, was silent for a moment, almost sitting on her hands. "Uh... Tseng... you don't sit here very often, do you?"

He almost did not know what to reply. In fact, he did not and just shook his head, listened to the water heating in the silence between them. She was so – endearing, beautiful, appealing sitting there at the edge of the couch. He was standing next to the kettle.

"Are you... I mean...?"

"I prefer the common-room," he said.

She smiled. "Me, too. It... I mean, it at least feels like home. I mean, you know, we've moved so many places the last few years, first Junon, then Midgar, then Kalm... Healing Launch (I loved Healing Lodge, by the way), then back to Junon, afterwards Midgar again, now back here... And all that in little more than four years... my room changed so many times, but... uh, the common room, it sort of always stays the same. And... of course, there's always us there. I mean, it's not just me, if I go there, I'll meet Reno and Rude, and you, of course, and sometimes even Rufus..."

He nodded, surprised by how well she also summed up his own feelings about that room. The kettle stopped. The water had reached those uniform 60°C he hated Rufus relying on so much. He felt the kettle and it did not feel warm enough, so he turned the heat up a notch and restarted the heating. He just loved Elena for talking away like that because he had no idea what to say.

"Why are you doing that?" Elena asked.

"What?" He felt slightly uneasy about that question, but it just seemed to be a curious one.

"Reheat the water, I mean. I've watched both you and Rufus making tea and you always seem to heat the tea up again or wait longer... Rufus never does."

"Tea is … I once told Rufus that green tea needs to be around 60°C when brewed and Rufus believes it has to be exactly 60°C but... tea... I mean, the water has to feel like if it has 60°C. The true temperature doesn't matter much."

Elena chuckled softly. "So that's why you frown when he makes tea.. I always wondered." She was sitting a little more relaxed now. "I wondered why he does it, still."

The kettle stopped and Tseng felt again. It felt better. "Rufus likes it if the world can be put into numbers and equations. He likes to have explanations and mechanisms. If not... not so good." He thought of Rufus' almost evident anger and confusion in the face of Tifa. How strange that he who played them so easily in other people should be so helpless in face of his own emotions.

Elena was silent for a moment and Tseng could feel her watching him as he poured the hot water into two mugs into which he had put some leaves before. Her eyes on him.

"I never thought of that," she said at last. "I mean... there are things that can be done and can't, but... I never thought of the world in terms of mechanisms... do you?"

Tseng emptied the tea into a small bowl and filled the mugs again, studied her how she sat there, contemplating, that crease between her eyes, how intensely she looked at him. How much he wanted to hold her again. He had never thought of her in terms of mechanisms. She was all warmth. "Not as much as he does, I think. Sometimes. I should think you can't just explain everything. Or you shouldn't." He checked himself. "I'm not saying he always does, though." He gave her the warm mug and took his own one, not sure whether he should sit, too. He did not want to make her feel uneasy, but could not bring himself to sit down into the armchair.

Elena smiled, looked straight at him, as she moved a little to the side. It was a little smile as if to herself and it was so warm that he had to catch his breath. Follow, though, he did her invitation and sat down next to her. Maybe a little too close. But she moved closer.

"They are planning to kill us all," she said after a moment.

Tseng felt her close, heard that hurt in her voice. He stared into his mug.

"She says that it doesn't matter that we stopped a few. She says that there is a big plan and more will be coming from the North once they are ready. They have the ultimate hero, too, she says..."

No question who she was. "I only heard one person spoken of as such..." He shuddered, thinking of those white haired abnormalities. What would Rufus say? Laugh, maybe. Elena sounded uneasy and now, she was shaking her head, staring into that mug, sitting close but not yet touching. Almost not.

"Not him," she said. "I don't think she meant him. She said their hero didn't yet know he will come but he is definitely going to... They mean to destroy us, Tseng. They mean to come here and... she said, the harbour was just the beginning..."

He turned the mug between his hands. "Did she say something about Fontainebleau and Scipione?"

Out of the edge of her eye, he saw her shaking her head. "She didn't know about them... Do you think the Fontainebleaus are hiding somewhere?"

Tseng lifted his shoulders. "I think they are dead, too. Maybe Scipione just got lucky and lived a little longer. Their process was all over the media and who that we don't know could they hide at?"

Elena blew the vapour away. He could feel her warmth next to him. "Rufus won't like that, he wanted to kill them himself, didn't he?"

Tseng shrugged. "He had his revenge."

"For what?"

"He never said."

"We never talk about the past."

He almost smiled. Although he was sure it was supposed to be just a statement, Elena sounded so terribly curious again. "Everyone had their reasons to join the Turks. One, I'm always thinking, is to leave the past behind. Never to talk about it again."

"But Rufus..."

"Neither joined us voluntarily nor does he need to talk about the past; everybody knows what they are supposed to, anyway. Do you think it's important to know someone's past?"

She seemed to think for a moment, then put her head against his shoulder and shrugged. "I think I know everything I need to know about you already."

She did not even sound as curious as before and he was thankful for it, leaning his head against her silken hair.

* * *

_Thank you very much again for reading! The next chapter will be about Rufus and Tifa again, for, of course, he won't just manage to sneak back to work all that easily._

_Please review._


	50. Arguments at Night

_The night continues turbulently._

_I'm sorry for choosing a somewhat confusing title for the last chapter! _

_Thank you very much again for your splendid review! It's just so incredibly motivating to be reading them and always makes me so happy! _

_**Half-Bloodprince, Novae-rog-tala, SansaStark**: I'm glad you're feeling somewhat more sympathetic towards Rufus/the Turks! I think it's true that Rufus has to pay for a lot that was his father's fault. But I doubt, too, that given the chance, he would have been better._

_I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter!_

* * *

Chapter 50: Rufus: Arguments at night

_24. April, Thursday, Shortly Before Midnight  
_

Tseng gave a short nod and moved towards the door to their quarters, giving Tifa a short look and Rufus a longer one. Rufus knew he was trying to assess if everything was at least as right as it could be regarding the circumstances, and so, he gave his Turk a short nod in return. The Turk had looked slightly inconvenienced when he had suggested putting Tifa next to Elena's quarters. He hoped it was just some mislead worries about him. He pushed himself away from the counter, perfectly aware that all social norms required him to stay with Tifa and make her feel comfortable until Tseng had ascertained that she could sleep in that room. But he was not going to do so: "Good. Now, then. If everything is settled, I'd like to get back to work."

Tifa gave him a surprised look while Tseng stopped in the doorway, giving him another questioning look. Rufus nodded him off; he had no intention to stay any second longer.

"You are still working?" Tifa asked. "It's half past nine!"

"Now, I don't believe work stops being urgent after half past nine. - You will excuse me." He gave her a nod, placed the mug on the counter and tried not to make his getaway look like the flight it actually was.

In that instance, however, he felt Tifa's hand closing around his wrist, stopping him half way in the movement. He felt his body reacting to the touch, the quickened pulse, the ache in his stomach, while his mind tried to staunch whatever feelings were rising.

"Rufus. Wait."

He jerked his hand free, but did stop. He knew Tifa was looking at him but did not want to turn to her gaze. It would be sheer insanity to let her stay. He would run mad with it within one week, he was certain.

"I... well, maybe I should have started with that, first of all. - I wanted to apologise."

This made him turn, bewildered. It was not like people excused to him on a daily basis. On the opposite. If something was wrong, it was usually his fault. Then, slowly, a smirk crept over his face as he realised what she was up to.

"Don't bother to try and ingratiate yourself."

Tifa frowned and he could almost see the anger behind her dark eyes. Then, suddenly, it flared away again and she looked so very hurt that it gave him the strangest twist. "I'm not here for arguments, Rufus. I'm – I'm not even here to ingratiate myself or anything. All I'm here for are my children. But I would like to say what I didn't mean to hurt you."

He knew he should turn. He knew he should just leave the room and not bothered any second. For he knew those words well enough. _I'm not here to ingratiate myself or to have you forgive me... I'm just here to offer retribution. I am well aware my company owes this planet a lot..._ or whatever. It were the same words he had used wherever he had come over the last few years. The same phrasing, almost. The words he hated so much.

They made him stay for he had never thought that he would ever be subject to such words. But whenever he had uttered them, he had wanted something. What did she want? He so much wanted to kiss her. He had lied so much when he had said that she was not beautiful. The blood was rushing in his ears from her last sentence.

"Very well. Enlighten me. What am I missing that you think you need to explain about? What can you _possibly_ want from me?"

Her lips thinned. "You know, Rufus, I think you're making things too easy for yourself. The world isn't just black and white."

Now, that was certainly not what he had expected as a reply. It irritated him. "Am I, now? And there I was, thinking you're all entangled in your lilly-white past."

She glared at him, tiredly, was still standing too close. "It's not. - You think it's just _my clan – my fight. Not my clan - not my fight_. But – responsibility is about something else. It's what Reeve does. Help people even if it doesn't matter to you, your people or even your company."

"Now, why would I do that?" Rufus gave back, intrigued despite the late hour, despite everything. Where was this heading?

"Because you owe the planet." Her eyes were hard, suddenly digging deep into his, and he felt as if someone had drawn the floor away below his feet. He had not seen that coming and it made him angry.

He snarled. "Now, how does that add up with your little explanation? Or does it consist out of flinging Meteor at me all over again? Really, Miss Lockheart, I don't need you to parrot that! I _know_ what we did and I _know_ it's been incredibly stupid to use the planet and its people in such a way. My company is doing whatever it can to pay back. In case you haven't noticed, my company has the best insurances in this country. My company is trying to provide energy almost entirely from natural resources – and I am rebuilding. I built up orphanages and hospitals. - I rebuilt half Edge. Do you think I did it just for money?" Well, if she did not at least think he did it partly for money, she knew him badly. He might not have made a gil with it until now, but it would be lucrative in future. If he still was around then. It had, of course, also been to keep the people from lynching him, to get back at least a tiny bit of power and, yes, maybe also because it did make you think if you suddenly realized that your company _had_ been destroying the planet and you were up to your neck in what people regarded as dirt even though you had never realised before. It did make you think if there were people like Tifa Lockheart who thought hat you were just the sum up of all evil while you looked into the mirror and saw nothing evil at all. "Do you think if I could revisit the past I would still give the order to have you executed?"

Tifa stared at him and for a moment, the room grew silent and her eyes ever so surprised and he damned himself for uttering that. For even hinting that he felt regret about that. If he had the chance to do that day again, he would give the order again. But this time, he would hand her the key himself. He would somehow make sure that the execution was not real to her and that she owed him.

Tifa blinked, her eyes suddenly so damn soft. "Just – I'm not here to accuse you of anything, Rufus. All I'm saying is: while you might always think about your own advantage, others may not. So, if I'm saying I want to apologise, I might not think about how it's going to be of advantage for me! I'm – don't interrupt me...!"

"Now, don't tell me that you aren't. Nobody apologises without reason. And – Miss Lockheart – welcome to life, that's exactly what people are: selfish. I never met anyone who wasn't and you're certainly no exception to that! Certainly not..."

"Just – shut up, Rufus, shut up and listen! I'm sick of arguments and ..."

"I can imagine you are." He gave her a smug smirk, although he was very much aware that both the expression and the comment were highly childish. But he was much too upset and tired to care. To hell with control.

She glared at him and almost snapped: "Will you listen?"

"Pray start." He, too, was way too tired to argue much longer. Way too angry and confused and way too unhappy.

She glared at him as if she was waiting for him to interrupt her again.

"Go ahead. I'll be as mute as the dead."

"Alright. Maybe you're right and I was just selfish, but, the point – the entire point was this: I had no idea if you were just enacting - or at least partly enacting something because you need someone to clear your west. You can do well without me. Cloud – at least that was what I thought – can't. It's... it's about responsibility. I … if you love someone, it makes you responsible for him – her, too. After all... how to explain?" She hesitated a moment and Rufus waited for her to go on. It was – sad – how much she seemed to think that whatever she was explaining was natural but needed to be explained to him. It once again raised the question how on Gaia he could have ever believed that she might actually be interested in him. How he could actually still be hoping for something.

Tifa brushed her hair aside. "Well. Love is the opposite of being selfish, do you understand?"

He did not, but he gave a short nod. How on Gaia could he have ever thought her interested? Her view of the world was – so much different from his. He had never given love much of a thought. It was bothersome, anyway. And he had never seen it being selfless. Stupid, blind, yes, but not selfless. Not even his father had been very selfless when he had imprisoned him instead of having him executed for treason. As much as he hated it, it had certainly been a matter of love, but also a matter of needing an heir. - Lazard, after all, had lacked important aspects of education.

"Just like when you saved Tseng."

Rufus frowned, displeased, and did not know why he was. "That has nothing to do with selflessness. Life without him would have been rather – unpleasant."

Tifa gave a sigh. "I don't think so. You could have just found a new friend, and instead saved your own life without much trouble. But – my point is..."

He missed her point. Was that not exactly what Tseng had complained about only a few nights ago? But the Turk had called him selfish for that... Selfish, in his opinion, was the act of doing something from which one oneself profited most without caring about the harm it might inflict on others. Selflessness, however, meant that one did things from which others would benefit most, at cost of inconveniencing oneself. Viewed in that light, had it not been selfless to save Tseng's life? Yet, the inconvenience he had had to put up with had been small compared to the inconvenience he would have had to put up with if he had not... just when had he stopped understanding his own actions? The world was very grey sometimes. Or, maybe, this was what going mad felt like.

"... anyway, I know I should have told you personally and I should have explained the matter, and I'm sorry I didn't. I thought it would be better that way, for you as well as for me. And... I wouldn't have been able to give you the vial if I hadn't gone with Cloud."

She was looking at him and the way she had left that sentence hanging in the air – the way, really, she was looking at him, made it seem a lot like she was actually hoping he would forgive her. Which was a rather uncomfortable sensation as he was not very much used to be the one to forgive. He had never believed anyone had forgiven him anything. Most of them had just needed his money. She - not.

"Okay," he said because that was all he could think of, especially now, being dead confused and tired.

Tifa stared at him. "Okay?" She repeated. "Is that all you have to say?"

"Now, what else would you like me to say? Your explanation makes sense." And he would have – very much – liked to wring Reeve's neck just a little bit for he supposed that, as it had been Reeve who had given them the vial, he had also been the one who had made Tifa chose between giving them the vial and staying with Cloud or not giving them the vial and do whatever she pleased to do. It also made his brain do funny things in terms of hormones and accelerated rate of heartbeats and emotions in general that were quickly skidding out of control. "I thank you for your explanation, it was most enlightening. Now." He drew in a deep breath, trying to somehow get back to thinking straight. "I'm sure Tseng will be back any moment. If you'll just excuse me, I have – important things to do." Yes, for example calming his own pulse and getting intensively silly thoughts out of his head. "Pray take a book, make yourself at home, whatever. I'm sorry I can't stay, but I – there is very much to do at the moment."

"There's just one other thing," she looked directly at him now, her eyes somewhat hard and he asked himself what he had been doing wrong or what was going to come now. He stopped, surprised how she could actually stop him with just a sentence if he was well aware that what was to come was unpleasant. Yet, he loved that look in her eyes.

"Don't ever call Cloud stupid again. He isn't and you have no right calling him so, just because you've got all this fancy education!"

"I'm not calling anyone stupid because of lack of education. I..."

"You just listen. You owe Cloud. If it weren't for him, you'd still have New Geostigma. You might even be dead. I know it's hard for you, but try to show at least a little respect."

He felt a sneer crawling over his lips, his inside protesting in any manner possible. Owe Cloud! How he hated that! Owe Avalanche for surviving Meteor. It made him sick to be indebted to anyone. Be indebted to someone like Cloud. And Tifa was still standing up for him. Felt that she had to protect him. She had crossed her arms in front of her chest and looked very much as if she would raise that topic every single time he dared to be disrespectful.

He smirked. "Of course, you're right." It would be interesting to see how she took nuanced respect. Oh, well, he knew how she was going take it, her entire posture suggested it. She would fight tooth and nail for that respect every single time. But then again, Cloud was history. "Make yourself at home, if you please. There should still be tea. If there isn't, well, you've seen where I've taken the tea from. I have to go."

Tifa nodded with a short smile. It was a soft smile that added up with all the other funny things that were going on in his brain. It was so very benevolent. Were her pupils dilated? His own had to be as wide as on mako-drugs... he actually felt very much how he imagined people felt on mako-drugs.

"I hope it's not too bad? Your company, I mean...?"

"Well, it could be worse." But not much worse. He gave a short nod. "Good evening."

"Good night."

"Thank you for your explanation." He closed the door behind him, quickly, did not even know why he truly felt thankful for her explanation. Then, he closed the door to his office and sat down in his chair, running a hand through his hair. This was madness. This was sheer madness. His heart was still hammering and he felt sick. She couldn't stay. Impossibly.

Nonetheless, it was scientifically rather intriguing how just a look at her, just a few words, got him spinning. It was as if the last six weeks had not happened. It was as if it just had been yesterdays that she had kissed him, that he had woken in her house. Almost his entire brain seemed battle to convince him that, maybe, she might have only chosen to stay with Cloud because she a) felt responsible for Cloud and b) Reeve had made her. Which was, of course, utter nonsense. If she had truly wanted to stay with him, she would have had. Maybe stolen the vial, whatever. But she would not have taken six weeks to think better of it.

If things with Cloud had worked out, she would not have come here. She would not have felt sorry or even made that excuse.

Whatever he was hoping for was nonsense.

Their conversation had made that absolutely clear. Her values were so very different from what he thought of the world.

Just why now? Why did she have to return now? Why did she have to look at him as if she actually liked him? Why had he been so very, very stupid to let himself fall in love with her? Why did he actually care for her brats? Why could he not have just flown them back? Why did he always have to scheme? And why on Gaia was Cloud that stubbornly stupid?

Most of all, why on Gaia did Tifa have to be right with her plan? It would be stupid to keep the children here and let Tifa leave without them. It was truly best to have Tifa stay here and deal with Cloud when he appeared. They would not be able to deal with Cloud on their own. She would also be a great help if the New Geostigma terrorists came to get his soul... what irony, that someone should be after his soul! There were enough rumours that claimed he had none.

Maybe he really did not. That would explain why her view of the world differed so much from his and why he just could not see her point there. Oh, well, he rather went for `educated' than for `soulless' on that.

Which posed quite another question: how was he going to act?

Well, actually, the question did not pose itself. He did not have enough strength left to manage the company and battle off whatever feelings she stirred up inside him. If he did that for longer than a week, he would either go mad, kill himself or just collapse. None of which was particularly dignifying.

The second option was – maybe not better. At the moment, Shin-Ra needed him and Shin-Ra needed him to function. Even if, after capturing that girl and giving Reeve the hint about the bridge, the NG-terrorists were thankfully rather quiet. Hopefully incapacitated. But Shin-Ra was staggering. There was not enough money anymore, it was crippled and it needed him, most dearly, to have his wits about. As it was, he knew well enough that he was far too dispirited presently to managed much. He was too tired, did not have enough energy and felt mostly just bored by things that had fascinated him before. As soon as the terrorists were entirely dealt with, as soon as he had stabilized Shin-Ra, he would be able to reduce his output a little. Which, he hoped, they would be soon. After the interrogation of the girl who had tried to assassinate him, after Reeve had had those other terrorist questioned and maybe even after Tifa's information, it could not be too far until the terrorists were at least subdued. Then, _Sulfur_ would be integrated into Shin-Ra again and he could relax a little.

But until they were there, he had to run both companies at full speed. If he allowed himself to love her, he would not have to put any much needed resources into subduing any emotions. On the opposite. He could actually draw whatever power he needed from that thunderstorm of positive feelings that would flood his brain and divert himself with rather interesting conversations. And, really, he longed to admit those feelings again even if he knew that he could not win in the end. He knew if he pursued that road, he would, at its end, pay most dearly. Tifa would not, under any circumstances, accept him neither as father of her children nor as a lover. If she had been willing to, she would have long done so. However, that did not mean he could not draw strength from making himself believe otherwise. After all, one could always try. A lot of things happened that nobody had ever predicted and everybody found utterly implausible. Especially if one tried seriously. And he needed strength. Shin-Ra needed strength.

It would do.

* * *

_Thank you very much again for reading! I hope you enjoyed! The next chapter will, most likely, be about Tifa and how she feels upon wakening at Shin-Ra again._


	51. Treasure Hunt

_Thank you again for your reviews! Very glad to read them!_

_**SansaStark**: You're probably right that Rufus needs Tifa more than Cloud. However, they both still have to come to that conclusion. I'm not quite sure what will become of the children, yet. Still planning ^^_

_I know I promised a chapter about Tifa, however, once I started thinking more about what I have planned for this day, I came to the conclusion that Tseng definitely has to go first._

_I hope you'll enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 51: Tseng: Treasure Hunt

_25. April, Friday, Later Morning_

Tseng's back hurt. To put it precisely, his entire body was hurting as he walked down the corridor. Rolling back the shoulders certainly did not help at all and the connection to his prosthesis was particularly uncomfortable today. He was definitely getting too old for things like that. Not that it had not been worth it. But... still. He very much preferred beds to couches. He asked himself how Elena would have reacted if he had suggested going to bed. Maybe, she would have fallen from the couch. Maybe, she would have excused herself and left. No, he was rather sure she would not have done the latter. But she would have been, most likely, incapable of answering. Maybe. He did not know. Which was exactly why he had not asked.

He did not want to mess this up, too, like the world that was falling apart around him. As hard as he had tried to protect them all. To protect Shin-Ra. And now, the world was spinning. Crumbling around him.

He had been so comfortable sitting there on the couch, her so close by, his own head resting on hers. She had smelled so nicely. Cinnamon, he thought. She had to be using something with cinnamon. Or was it something else? He had never been good with smells. He had been so comfortable that he had not dared to do anything to disturb that equilibrium. Certainly not by asking her if she did not want to move away from the couch. It was not like he did not know how what he could have said – it was more that he had not wanted to risk to scare Elena away. He had been so perfectly contend to be just sitting next to her for that moment.

Maybe, he was truly getting old.

But it was not like he did not want Elena. He did. Very much so. With every breath he took, with every second he thought of her. Still, he had asked himself then and was asking himself still if he would not be just taking advantage of her; she was at least ten years his junior and whatever had happened, he was still her somehow superior.

It was raining outside. The sky was frowning down at him. They had predicted sun for today.

Maybe, all Elena wanted was to kill of a crush while he - what did he want? It felt as if he never wanted her to leave again. He did not want to be mooning after someone again for years. He wanted someone to spent maybe the rest of his life with as short as that might be. And he was not sure whether that had even crossed Elena's mind. Yes, he was old, old compared to her, anyway. His aims in life had shifted since he had been in his mid twenties. When nothing had seemed impossible. When he had not even known any of his present friends. When mako had still been burning the skies and love had been just a game.

Maybe – no, most likely – he had just become incredibly distrustful over the years. Or romantic. Or lonely.

He shook those thoughts off. This was really not the time to think them. There was too much to do, no time for leisure. Maybe, that was another reason to wait and move slowly, though. That time was all they did not have.

The day around him was grey, dim and unfriendly, wind pulling at the windows, roaring in from the continent. It was hot and humid, the air filling with clouds and rain as it hit the cold winds of the sea. The air conditioners were humming. As unfriendly as the weather was looking, it was steaming hot outside. That humid kind of hot that Tseng hated so much about Junon. Even in the air-conditioned air, his shirt was clinging to his back.

He stopped in front of the door to the office, collecting himself before he entered. Elena was sitting behind her desk, a frown on her beautiful face as she was reading whatever was showing on the screen. So young compared to him. Maybe, he should not encourage her as he did. Maybe, he should not feel his heart hammering as he stood here or taking so much delight in just watching her – just watching that single strand of hair that she was twisting around her finger, disposed of until it fell into her face again a few seconds later. Rufus would not give much of a damn on the right or wrong of the situation, he suddenly thought.

But Rufus made a bad roll model. Tseng made no doubt that Rufus would be contemplating in which way a relationship would be beneficial for the company. He was quite certain that this was also how their friendship had come about, too. Tseng inwardly shook his head. Or at least, when asked, Rufus would claim that. And be able to list at least ten valid reasons which had nothing but everything to do with what he actually felt. No, Tseng preferred to be acutely aware of that longing pain inside him and recognize it just for what it was.

Elena suddenly looked up and a smile crept over her face. Not the usual polite one she wore almost every time one met her, but that one that cracked her entire face into a cheerful, open and beautiful expression. That one which he loved so much but which she displayed far too seldom. Apart from, perhaps, when he was around. It made him feel so warm. He could not even keep her safe, could not even guarantee for her life.

"Tseng! - Have, uh - since when have you been standing there?"

He moved into the office. She looked so very tired, too. "Not very long. I just arrived." A window was open. He could feel the humid heat creeping into the room, sticking the clothes to the body even from meters away. The rain was forming thick drops on the glass.

She smiled at him, her face so radiant with joy that he felt hot and just forced to reply that smile which seemed to cause her even more happiness. He wanted to tell her that she was silly being so happy just because he replied her smile, but that would have meant disturbing this moment. He would have liked to kiss her, but there were too many people buzzing around.

"Oh. Uh - " she stretched, arched and he asked himself if she knew what kind of desires she was triggering with that movement. "Well, what can I do for you, Senpai?"

"I'm here because I wanted to know if you've finished the report about the interrogation yesterday."

She nodded. "Just reading through it one last time." Her face grew serious. He just loved how her expressions always seemed to describe one extreme. Elena was either dead tired, radiantly happy, deeply earnest or dead furious (although he had not witnessed the latter, yet). He had never seen her anyway in between although he was certain by now that she felt a lot more than those extremes. Still. He liked it to see those expressions she should have been master over as a Turk.

Tseng nodded. "I thought I'd talk to Rufus about them. You sounded as if it was bad yesterday evening."

Again, her face was dead serious. "It is, Tseng. I mean... well, I mean, we have been very lucky that she didn't kill Shachou and that we were able to catch her. She's... well, I think she is one – if not the – middlemen of the terrorists in our company. We are almost certain that it is true what she claimed and she has spies in every department. Uh – actually, we've scheduled another interrogation for tomorrow morning to find out who they are, so we can take care of them. Anyway... - I'm sorry, I'm just talking away again! I'll print the report for you immediately."

"No, no. Please go on. I'd rather have you tell me than read the report."

She beamed. "Really? - Well, in that case, I'll do my best. Please – sit down!"

"Could I close the window first?"

She almost jumped up, hurrying to close it herself. "Sure!"

"Sit down again. You don't need to close the window for me."

She blushed as if she were still that rookie and he had for the first time acknowledge her presence. Maybe, he was just entirely crazy. The rain had stopped outside but he still felt the humidity on his fingers as he closed the window. Everything outside looked soggy and sorry.

"Uh, Tseng... did you already talk to Rufus about what is to become of Tifa?" Elena asked. "I mean... I have to say I would feel sort of sorry for her if we were to throw her out again. I mean... that thing with Cloud is pretty dire on her, I'd say, and... well, I like the children and they are doing well here and..."

"What about Rufus?"

Elena was biting her lip. "I... it's not like I haven't been thinking about him, too. Does he hate her so much?"

Tseng smiled, thinking of the conversation he had had with Rufus in the morning. "I don't think he exactly hates her. He wants to use her in case Cloud comes here or in case the terrorists come. - He says." For a moment, he asked himself if he was betraying Rufus' confidence by adding that. But Rufus had not said anything precisely and Elena looked rather puzzled with his comment.

"What do you mean by that?"

Tseng returned to the table. "As you well know, Rufus usually has more than one reason to do things the way he does. I just wish he wouldn't keep her. - But he's right, as usual, of course; if Cloud comes, we'd be defenceless against him and we could do with Tifa, too, if the terrorists come."

Elena nodded. "She'll be trouble. But... I think it'd be good if we did keep her. You know... we can't always do bad things. Sometimes, we have to help people. I mean... if Tifa split up with Cloud because of those rumours and well, in the end because of Rufus... she isn't likely to have many friends to go to anymore, is she? I mean, all her Avalanche friends would rather choose Cloud's side than hers, because of Rufus, don't you think so?"

Tseng was almost surprised by that statement. Elena's deductions came along that unassumingly that they tended to catch even him by surprise, which was stupid because he was well aware that she was smart. "Yes. That sounds very likely."

She blushed a little again, just her ears, as if his praise was the most important thing on this planet. "I do feel sorry for her, you know? If we are almost her only friends. I mean, I was pretty mean to her, yesterday." She looked worried.

Tseng did not reply to that. It was not like Rufus tended to behave in any way that would have earned him to be treated well and that was not much of a secret, even if he treated them well.

"So," he said after looking at her for another minute. "What about this woman?"

"Well," Elena composed herself, sat upright and looked much like a Turk. "She says her name is Martha, you know?"

He almost laughed. Maybe, that was the most unimportant information Elena could have related. But knowing her, he was supposed that she needed to say things like that to get herself started. He looked around and when he could not see anyone looking hesitated a moment to take her hand. To calm her down, maybe also to calm himself down.

She startled and then smiled broadly at him. "Uh... well, as I said, her name is Martha and she claims not to be, but I think she was quite important for their network within Shin-Ra."

Tseng gave a short nod. He had supposed that she was rather important when there had been no attacks several days after her capture. And someone who was not important would not have had a radio hidden in their rooms with which to contact the headquarters – the same radio thanks to which they had been able to give WRO the tip about the attack on the train bridge. He thought that Rufus had to find it rather vexing to be giving intelligence to WRO, and being force to rely on their forces than taken those terrorists prisoners oneself. He surely found it most aggravating But they could not have sent anyone apart from _Sulfur._

"She says that they have enough people to destroy us ten times over." Elena shuddered. Maybe, she was remembering the interrogation, words she had heard, looks. He squeezed her hand a little tighter, saw her smile, answer his grasp, and then, her thumb started stroking over the back of his hand. "She claims to have been recruited, well, about half a year ago, `up north'. It also seems that up north is where this group came from. I mean... that would fit of course with what Tifa said the Tuesday before last Tuesday she has heard from Cloud – have we heard from Vincent in the meantime?"

Tseng shook his head. "I'm not sure he will tell us, even if he finds something out."

Elena nodded and it was strangely comforting that she seemed to understand him without asking further. Vincent had saved their lives and he had had his reasons for that. He had also had his reasons for many other things, and, even if he was an ancient Turk and old friend of Veld's, he was also Cloud's friend.

"Anyway... she stated a lot of nonsense on their believes. - That's what she first said. I mean, it seems they think that Rufus is something like evil reborn and that it's everyone's duty to destroy Shin-Ra because we are planning anyway to subdue the entire world again and be worse than even before Meteor. They think that we actually want to destroy the world." She stated that flatly, but Tseng was quite certain that she had felt terribly hurt by those words. She had stopped stroking his hand now and carefully, he put his left hand, the metal one, over hers, asking himself how much comfort a cold piece of cold steal could convey. "They also think we are responsible for Geostigma. They really think we developed that illness and unleashed it on everyone! I mean... I don't know!" She shook her head. "Why would we do such a thing? How can they even think we would?"

Tseng closed both his hands, felt her warmth, so very comfortable. So very dear. "Maybe, Shin-Ra killed the family of their leader. Maybe, their home town got destroyed. Maybe, they are from Wutai. Who knows? It's...," he thought back at the war in Wutai, "people don't think differentiated of their enemies. They are all evil and nothing is beyond them."

Elena smiled a little. "Yes. I know. Still."

Tseng nodded. "Did you find anything out about who leads their group?"

Elena shook her head. "No... that is, she referred to their leader as 'grandmother'."

"Grandmother...," Tseng repeated. That could be everyone. "So, they are planning to destroy Shin-Ra."

Elena nodded. "Soon. She said it doesn't matter that we caught her. And she said there was nothing we could do against it because they had people everywhere. She said – well, actually she said: residence is futile. You will be exterminated. She said that to _me_."

Tseng squeezed her hand a little harder. "Don't ever believe that. There were tons of people who tried to kill us and nobody succeeded so far." He did not even believe his own words. Shin-Ra was staggering. They did not even have the power to protect themselves ever since the attacks on the harbour. The more so ever since Rufus was doing the only reasonable thing; to concentrate more on _Sulfur_.

Elena smiled, weakly. "What do you want to do against it this time? I mean... I'm sorry if I'm presumptuous or anything, but... Rufus doesn't have any more white rabbits in his hat, does he?"

Tseng almost smiled at the picture of Rufus and white rabbits. "No... well, but _Sulfur_."

Elena frowned. "It's not like that's a rabbit. It's a new company."

"I need to talk to him," Tseng said. He did not want to talk to Rufus. He did not want to be the one who said _that_. He got up.

"About what?" Elena asked, looking up.

"Shin-Ra. We have to do something. If they are planning an attack, we need to make plans for evacuation."

She looked at him. "So you _are_ taking their threat seriously. Even though we caught Martha. Even though Reeve caught those other terrorists?"

Tseng would have liked to reply anything else in the world. Would have given anything for it if he could have just shrugged and smiled and told her that those New Geostigma terrorists were no threat. But a single one of them had blown up the entire harbour, another one had blown up their power plant in Surna. It had taken just one young woman to almost kill Rufus directly within their walls and they had been few when they had tried to blow up the railway tracks. "If we don't find them soon enough, I fear ... . Shin-Ra... Shin-Ra is staggering, Elena. All we need is another push and, well, I'd rather not risk that one. I don't want to risk anyone's life and most of all not yours or Rufus' or any of ours." Not of Reno and Rude who were in Kalm with _Sulfur_ for a few days. He had never voiced it and would also like to never voice it, but he thought it would be a good idea to give Shin-Ra up. Rather sooner than later. Those terrorists were not the only ones who hated them enough to want them dead, and most likely they would not even be the last group of terrorists who tried, even if they managed to catch them.

Elena nodded, calmly, and got up. "I'll come with you."

"With me?"

"To see Rufus."

He was about to contradict, had not wanted to go - had wanted to postpone it to _somewhen_, but stopped himself in the last moment and gave a nod. Maybe, it was good to go now, before it was too late. Maybe, Elena could do some good. Rufus at least valued her professional opinion. So, Tseng turned into the corridor and headed for Rufus' office, feeling Elena walk next to him. Serenely and silent. Well, there was nothing to be happy about. He asked himself how Rufus was going to take it and felt almost like a traitor.

Rufus was sitting behind his desk staring between mountains of paper at the screen of his computer. It was warm in the room and in Rufus' back the foreboding sky was fracturing, leaving him in the only isle of light, both from his computer screen and the lamp that shone its light over the documents. He was frowning.

"Is it _Sulfur_?" Tseng asked. He had found it a good idea that Rufus had started investing almost all his energy into _Sulfur_ instead Shin-Ra. But with the newly build company, it would still be weeks, maybe even months before the first profit made its way onto any bank account. Even if all the small companies that had been united into _Sulfur_ had existed before. Restructuring was expensive. They had had to bribe so many people, pay so many attractive wages, and then, there had been the bombing of Junon's harbour, too. Tseng was well aware there was not much money left. If at all.

* * *

"Is the news that bad?" Rufus did not even look up from his work.

"How bad?" Tseng asked back. He felt Elena almost flinching at Rufus's sight. As if she had not seen him struck with Geostigma, as if she had not lived with them for months at Healing Lodge.

"That you have to come in twos." Rufus looked up, eyes even paler against the prominent light, his colourless lips ever so slightly drawn into a taut frown.

"News is very bad," Tseng admitted and stopped in front of the desk.

Rufus put his pen aside and looked at them. "Go on."

Out of the edge of his eye, Tseng could see how Elena was drawing in a deep breath and pulling herself to an upright position before she gave Rufus almost the same account as she had given him. Strangely without the insecurity he had perceived around himself.

Rufus's tired frown increased as Elena went on until he looked almost as angry as tired when she finished. "Well, what do you want me to do?"

Tseng felt Elena looking at him. He drew in a deep breath, felt like a traitor. "We should concentrate more on _Sulfur_. It might be a good idea."

Rufus sneered. "Right. - Do you think they'd stop just because Shin-Ra stops existing? – that is what you are aiming at, isn't it? Just give up Shin-Ra!" The anger, the despair, in his voice became more evident with every syllable. Tseng saw the helpless fury burning in his eyes. "I'm not going to give up Shin-Ra. Not ever."

Tseng gave a sigh. "I haven't said..."

"No, but that's what you were aiming at!" Rufus got up. "Really, Tseng! Do you indeed believe they'd just let me _live_ just because Shin-Ra is gone? In which fairy tale are you living? Our only chance is to catch all of them and put every single one of them against a wall!"

Tseng heard Elena's breath catching in her throat but just massaged the connection between prosthesis and flesh. "What if we can't?"

His sentence drifted into the room and hung there, amongst the grey daylight, the slowly cracking sky.

"Don't tell me you can't! You are the Turks!" Rufus snapped, glaring at him and Tseng felt as if he had just pulled something away below his friend's feet. Something of which Rufus had to know that it did not exist. Maybe, the last straw.

"That doesn't mean we can do everything!" Elena's sudden shout took Tseng as well as obviously Rufus by surprise. Only that Rufus whirled around, a cruel smile suddenly on his face as he directed his gaze at Elena and Tseng just knew things would go rapidly downhill from now on; Elena had given Rufus the perfect drain for his anger.

"Now, why don't you try a little harder, then?" Rufus's voice was almost sharp with contempt when he leaned over the desk.

Elena looked positively shocked at that reply and Tseng – not for the first time – felt the very atypical urge to punch his friend.

"But...," Elena stared.

"Elena, let...," Tseng tried to interrupt.

"No, Tseng!" Elena whirled around, pointing her index finger at Rufus, and Tseng could almost see how she was summoning all her courage. "What do you _think_ we are actually doing all the time? Do you think we're just running around, having fun? - Do you even know how hard Tseng is working to keep your back free? Don't tell us to work harder! There's nothing harder we can do! There's a limit, Shachou, and – and, I'd say we've reached it! We've overreached it! Tseng's right! You can't shout at us like that! There's nothing more we can do!"

Rufus cocked his head. "My, aren't you a brave one? All that spirit! - And so wasted on me. Let me phrased it differently, then, just for you: If you don't capture those terrorists, we'll go down. End of story."

"Just – no!" Tseng could see tears in Elena's eyes and was not sure whether it was because of Rufus's scorn or just plain anger. "No! We've got _Sulfur_! We can still go to _Sulfur_! Let them just have Shin-Ra! - Just, let them have it their way! We've got _Sulfur_! _Sulfur_ is much better structured than Shin-Ra, much more efficient, people don't hate it! - Just, why Shin-Ra! Why must we keep it?"

Rufus sneered. "Get her out, Tseng, she's boring me."

"No." Tseng felt anger boiling inside him. Even though he knew under what stress Rufus was, even though he was used to reactions like that if Rufus did not get his way, even thought he had known that Elena's comment would escalate the situation, that did not mean he had to like it. "Just no, Rufus. Elena's right." He crossed the arms in front of his chest. "You can't treat us like this. We can't continue like this!"

Rufus opened his mouth and Tseng already saw his lips twisting up in that cruel smirk that would be followed by even more acid words. Words that hurt every single time they were spoken. Maybe today would be the day he walked away from them. He could stand them himself, knew how to react to them, but not Elena. Not her, too. Rufus had no right to treat her like that. Whoever he thought he was. Tseng braced himself for the words to come, but Rufus closed his mouth again, edges of it twisting away in anger. He turned to the window, to the isles if light outside that stole their way onto the white tipped sea, the wet heat that was licking down the panels.

"Right."

"Right, what right?" The single word took Tseng completely by surprise.

"I'm sorry, I guess." Rufus's reply came in a low voice and simultaneously the pen in his right hand splintered, black ink pouring over his fingers. Dripped to the floor as the silver pen jangled onto the stone, the two ends rolling away in black blood. Tseng knew the pen. It had been a birthday present.

Rufus, look still directed at the vast ocean, took out a handkerchief. "So. How can giving up Shin-Ra make this better?" The scorn in his words was almost scorching. "How would _that_ keep them from coming after me?"

Tseng gave a sigh, strangely relieved, strangely more uneasy than he would have been after yet another fight with his friend. "If we were to give up Shin-Ra, we might just buy the necessary time to get hold of those terrorists."

Rufus was still cleaning his fingers with almost mechanical precision. That was, as well as a handkerchief could remove black ink from skin. The movement suggested that he was still fighting hard for control. Elena, Tseng notice, seemed to be holding her breath. "They've been quiet this last week. Your girl there doesn't know that we – WRO – caught a few others of her followers. It can't be too long until one of them relates where their hideout is. Maybe, they are not even strong enough anymore to perform such an attack. - How's the girl's face, by the way?" Rufus turned a little again, his expression almost neutral, voice back to polite.

"They couldn't fix her nose. She doesn't react to healing materia, only to potions," Elena explained, calm.

Rufus nodded. "Good."

"I wouldn't bank on it that they have a hideout or anything. We can't let all our people be killed if they are indeed attacking," Tseng emphasized.

Rufus shrugged. "Interrogate her again. Most likely, she's not telling everything."

"We've interrogated her the entire day, yesterday," Elena said, somewhat displeased.

"Well, you said yourself she doesn't react to healing materia. Make use of it." He was frowning at his black stained hand.

"We can't do that, Shachou," Elena said quietly. "That would be torture."

"Torture, hn?" Tseng had a feeling that Rufus was studying their reflection in the window. He had never told Rufus exactly what had happened when Kadaj had abducted them. But Rufus was no fool. "We'd better not do that, then. Things might transpire. You could also try mako; it sometimes yields satisfactory results, I'm told." He brushed over his elbow. "Nonetheless, we could also wait for the results from WRO."

Tseng nodded. He knew perfectly well what Rufus was implying and although he was not as sure as Rufus that it was true, he was equally sure that WRO would not precisely play according to the rules. Not with the people that were working for their police force. Reeve would never know, of course. Well, Reeve would never care to know.

"We still need a plan B," Tseng said, quietly.

Rufus looked at him. "I'm not giving up Shin-Ra. I've not waited twenty years for my old man to pass away. I've not scrapped up everything after Meteor and I most certainly did not go through the last few months just to give up now! _Sulfur_ is not Shin-Ra. _Sulfur_'s just – just a farce! I'm not giving up, Tseng. I've not done all of _this_ just to – just to give in to that bombing squat now."

Tseng closed his eyes, felt Elena drawing closer as if she wanted to give him some extra strength. There had been that angry note in Rufus' voice again. There had been the despair he felt, too. "Okay. Only... when the time comes..."

"If."

Tseng nodded, drew in another breath. "Alright. We'll do our best."

"We could contact WRO for further security," Rufus suggested and Tseng knew just how much he had to hate that suggestion. "The terrorists can't all be on our staff, otherwise they would have attacked long ago. Try to find out from that girl who her contacts were."

Elena nodded. "Already doing that, Shachou."

Tseng nodded, too. "Will you come along? It's almost noon."

"And yet more grovelling to be done... how I hate what has become of this world!"

Tseng smiled a little. "I'll meet you in ten minutes in front of the common room, then."

"Whatever."

Sometimes, Tseng asked himself if Rufus was just saying 'whatever' to be saying it at all. Still, he was happy when the door to the office had closed behind him.

"Why did you agree?" Elena protested. "We – I mean, I think he's wrong! It's not over, yet! You haven't heard that Martha!"

Tseng smiled at her. "Leave him time to get used to the idea of giving up Shin-Ra. We are half way there, anyway. Whether he likes it or not. We're concentrating more efforts on _Sulfur_ than on Shin-Ra already. Maybe, maybe he's even right and we won't need to give up Shin-Ra."

"I don't see why it's so important. I mean... what's the difference between Shin-Ra and _Sulfur_? He won't loose either power or money. I mean... he might even win some, since Shin-Ra's so unpopular..." She looked worried. "Is he always like this?"

Tseng shrugged. He had his own theory on the matter, but he did not feel as if this was a good time to relate it. "You know how overworked we all are."

Elena hesitated a moment. "Still, I don't think he should treat you like that."

Tseng smiled, decided against telling her that, most likely, she had given Rufus the opportunity to explode, and that if he had been alone, the conversation would have been a different one. "Don't worry. I don't let him."

Elena paused a moment, seemed uncertain about what Tseng had set, twisted a strand of her hair around her finger. "Maybe, we should look for another escape route. I mean, in case they attack and we haven't yet prepared everything. I mean... I don't want them to kill him, really." Elena was looking at him almost anxiously.

Tseng felt a surge of affection flooding through him. "Escape route? Like the one in Shin-Ra tower, you mean?"

Elena nodded. "I thought that, if President Shinra had an escape route there, he might have built one here, too... I mean, it would make sense, wouldn't it?"

Tseng smiled a little. "It would. But this building is older than the tower."

Elena frowned. "Buildings need to be renovated."

Tseng felt his smile broadening. "That is true. If you have time... if you'd like to, we could look for an escape route."

Elena beamed. "I'll go into the archive directly!"

Tseng shook his head. "I don't think there'll be any official plans of an escape route. Let's meet at the president's old office after dark."

The beam on Elena's face grew even wider. "Great! - I'll see you for lunch, then? I – uh, I still need to finish that report... I mean, if you like to, I'd come now, too, but... I mean, the report – it's not like I don't want to, but..."

Tseng smile and felt he was doing that a lot despite all the circumstances. "Of course. I'll see you for lunch."

Elena nodded, smiling, gave his hand a short squeeze and then, she was off, down the corridor and around the corner, almost bouncing with happiness.

And all because he had promised her to go on a treasure hunt with him...

* * *

_Thank you very much again for reading. The next chapter will now definitely describe Tifa's morning!_

_Please review!_


	52. Awakening

_I'm sorry for posting late again! I'm presently rather busy with university which does interfere a little with my time for writing._

_**SansaStark: **I've been thinking about your idea of having Tifa talk to the terrorist woman; I agree, it would be quite an interesting encounter. However, when I started writing the scene, it turned out that, in order to get Tifa to talk to the terrorist, I would have had to take a detour of several chapters to make it plausible and work. The problem is, that presently, Tifa does not really have much of a reason to see the terrorist. Rufus, on the other hand, seems to be rather opposed to the idea which would mean that he'd argue against it. Because Tifa isn't really that interested, she would probably agree with him finally, so, there would be a lot of arguing and in the end, Tifa would not meet the terrorist, anyway. Additionally, the scene would not advance the plot which would not justify the detour I'd be taking. So, I think the idea is lovely, but I'm sorry that I most likely won't be able to include it._

_Please enjoy the new chapter!_

* * *

Chapter 52: Tifa: Awakening

_25. April, Friday, Morning_

When Tifa entered the common room on the next morning, the first thing she realised was that she should have asked which time they were going to rise for the room was completely empty and the children's bags were missing already.

She had set her mobile phone to wake her at a quarter to seven o'clock which, she supposed, was way early enough because in Edge, school started at nine. It seemed things were different in Junon. Much different. When she saw the bags missing – when she saw that the room was empty, that no one was there, she felt terribly low again.

She had not been able to sleep well. Only when she had reached her room, she had realised that she had hoped for so much coming here. And then, the Turks had been so cold. Rufus had been so cold. That horrible argument they had had. He had not even seemed happy about her explanation. Just so terribly, terribly unhappy and angry and exhausted. He had made her so angry, too, and she was so sorry for all the words that had passed. Wished so much that she had not hurt him that much. Wished she had not apologised. It had been just silly. The time when an apology was all it took had long passed. Maybe, it had never been there.

She wished so much things could have been just like before. This one month, although she had been so much afraid for Denzel, she _had_, in a strange way, been happy.

She had so much hoped they would keep her. That they would forgive her. She did not believe Rufus's thanking her for her help had been more than mere politeness. And yet, he had frozen almost to stone when he had entered the room and that storm that had crossed his face had so much made her want him close. Because he had looked as lost as she felt. If you were lost, the best thing she knew was to look for someone else equally lost and help. And she wanted to help so much.

Gaia, she should have never gone to Shin-Ra in winter. She had known it would be a bad idea, and ever since then, whatever ground she had thought to have under her feet had crumbled away almost entirely, leaving her adrift, awoken in a completely different world. So, when she closed the door to the common room behind her, she felt most horribly low, well aware that this day could not bring anything but another set of arguments, that even if she reached out, Rufus would jerk his hand away and be angry. That the Turks would be angry. That, at the end of the day, she would, most certainly, be alone with both children at her hands. She did not want to return to Edge. She did not want to go and visit Barret. She wanted to go back. Back in time.

Her eyes travelled through the room and stopped her dead in her steps. The light was dimmed by the dark day, rain hitting against the grey windows, but on the table – the smaller one with the three chairs around it – a small candle was flickering benign life into this greyish darkness, idly warming a pot of tea that was waiting on its tea warmer. A plate was set out, bathed in that circle of warm light, and a note had been left on the plate, breathing ever so slightly in a current of air.

Her heart, slowly, started cramping, hand on the wooden frame of the door. The entire scene before her made her feel more at home than she had felt for weeks in Edge. Even if she was not welcome, even if she imposed herself on them, even if she had quarrelled with and hurt Rufus, they had still set out that plate for her, had still left tea – why on Gaia all Shin-Ra was drinking tea she had never quite understood but thought it to be Tseng's fault. They had still left a note. The candle beneath the pot was filling the room with a warm isle of light that stood against that nasty twilight outside. She crossed the room, uncertain. With a strange sensation of apprehension, she picked up the letter, blinked to look at it, the crisp paper ever so soft under her fingers. It was addressed to `Miss Lockheart', but it was a note, and the table had been set for her, the tea had been made and kept warm and... they had been thinking of her. He had been thinking of her.

With a lump in her stomach, almost afraid, she started reading.

\\

_Good morning, Miss Lockheart_, it went,

_you will find some food in the refrigerator and tea in the cupboard (the one to the left of the one above the stove). Feel free to take whatever you fancy. The children will return from school at half past one. I would take it most kindly if you were to join our lunch season at one o'clock in the dining room (other end of the corridor, but I am sure you will find out by yourself). _

_Pray occupy yourself until then. You will find the library next to this room on the right. Or, if you have not read it, yet, you might want to take a look into the book on the table. You might want to check if it is indeed suited for children. _

_Regards, _

_Rufus_

\\

\\

He had signed with `Rufus'. Well, of course he had, she told herself when she starred at that piece of paper in her hand. There was nobody she knew – but her – who called him anything else, Turk that he wanted to be. Was, maybe.

Those few words, those few gestures of politeness, made her almost insanely happy, the desire to just hold him for a moment almost overwhelming.

Simultaneously, the thought crossed her mind that, if life with Cloud had returned to its normal cause, she would have never spared Rufus another thought. Certainly not felt that warm tenderness insider her rise.

She dropped the note, aghast at herself, embarrassed about her apology, and in the same instance remembered that she had taken so many meals alone back home, set the table for herself. Cloud had rarely left notes and when, they had been different. Not so... utilitarian. Warmer, shorter. Things like: `Don't worry, I'll be back soon'.

She went to the other, lower table, looked at the book. Why had they set the table? Why was Rufus so much politeness? Was he all politeness because it was socially required or because he still harboured friendly feelings for her? And if so, did she earn them? No. Wrong question. Rufus was not in any morally superior position. Had never been, would never be... well, at least, she would never admit it to him.

On the table, next to a book, several half finished pictures were lying and seeing them she felt strangely relieved. The children were... safe. She could not think of any place that would be safer for them than Shin-Ra. And most likely, they were also doing well. If they drew, they were doing well.

She hesitated to pick up the book, turned it in her hands. It was heavy, an expensive edition. She did not know the title, but the author – Minerva Powell – sounded vaguely familiar. She opened the first page but stared at the couch. She remembered how Rufus had sat there, on the other end of, and felt strangely cold thinking of him. Well, she had expected anger which he had displayed. He had looked so tired and worn and exhausted and now, he was just being kind again... since when was Rufus Shinra in any way kind? Did he ever even do anything that did not fit into one of his agendas? Was he even worth any feeling of tenderness? She was not even sure if he was capable of feeling as guilty and sorry as she felt about how she had treated him.

Perhaps, she was unfair. He cared for his Turks. If someone cared for someone else, surely, that someone was also capable of guilt.

He had half apologised for that execution business. And she had no clue why. From his point of view, she had been a terrorist, back then. A terrorist who had richly earned an execution at that. And then, there were the rumours Cloud had quoted about him. Cloud who was still lying like a deep lump inside her stomach. Or, rather, not the fact that she had split up with him and left him behind, but the fact that it mattered so little to her while it should have mattered so very, very much.

After all, she had always thought Cloud the love of her life. And here she was, after not even four years, contemplating about Rufus.

But, she realised as she turned the book around that the day she had stopped fearing that someone would walk into her bar and tell her Cloud was dead had been the day on which she had finally stopped caring.

She could not even remember which day it had been.

For a moment, she stood there, holding the book in her hands, staring down onto the children's drawing. She so much wanted Rufus to like her again.

But that, of course, was not the way the world worked; she had been foolish enough to leave for Cloud. Because... well, because she felt responsible. Because she thought there had been a real chance for happiness. Rufus was... well, too proud. Even if he still might be interested, she doubted that he would ever show her more than scorn. Way too proud that man.

He would give her all politeness, all the good treatment. Everything. And nothing else.

\\

It was Tseng who entered the room first, followed directly by Rufus, and the clock had just struck twelve. Tifa was on her feet almost simultaneously, just caught that smirk on Rufus' face as he seemed to notice that she was reading. It irritated her, put her on edge – most of all because the smirk was not really malevolent which caught her completely off-handed. The way he looked. They way he flicked his hair. She realised that she had almost forgotten how he moved. That strange mixture of studied fluency and roughness. Those black-and-white clothes as if he was scorning most people's view of the world. Most likely, he was, and she just hated that.

"Good morning... good day, Miss Lockheart." He was also the one who started conversation. Tseng just studied both of them. Tifa could not read much from his face, he only seemed less hostile than the evening before which, strangely, did not relieve her. Most likely, Rufus and Tseng had already agreed on a procedure. But what was their agenda? There had to be a reason why they were greeting her that politely.

"I thought it might be a good idea to deal with the situation at hand if you... before the children return home. It will not do to argue in front of them," Rufus continued, seemed a little at loss with where to move.

Tseng seemed to agreed and so did she, cordially, studied Rufus closer now that he had decided to come towards the couches and to sit down opposite to her. He did not look as if he had had much rest, well kept, elegant, of course, but extremely tired. He smiled at her and it was so strangely benevolent that her heart missed a beat. She so much wanted to asked him why he was so tired and if he was doing well at all.

She swallowed. "That sounds reasonable. I'm still staying with my suggestion from yesterday evening. I would like to stay here in case Cloud comes back – and also in case the terrorists are coming. I don't want to leave this just to you and, well, maybe, I can talk some sense into Cloud... or at least make him go away. Besides... I'm sure you could do with another warrior on your side, and I would take care of the children, even if they also go to school in the afternoon," which she supposed, "and... Maybe, I could help with investigations on _Sulfur_, too. We've brought together quite a bit of information, and I think it won't be long until we know where this Tamara Young is. And I'm sure questioning of the captives from the last attack will reveal the link between the terrorists and..." Tseng had sat down on the other couch and for a moment, as she had been talking, his eyes had met with Rufus' and now, Rufus stopped her with a taut smiled.

"I appreciate your offer to help, but don't you think that Reeve would feel rather betrayed if you were to tell us everything you found out?"

Tifa had already opened her mouth to give back that Reeve would certainly not when the penny finally dropped. She closed her mouth again, then smiled sweetly. "If that's the case I don't think you can _allow_ yourselves to let me leave."

Rufus leaned forward, suddenly interested. He even seemed bemused. Tseng frowned. He didn't. "Now, why would that be?"

Tifa picked up the book and pointed at the name of the author, Minerva Powell: "Because of this."

Rufus raised an eyebrow, his mouth twitching. "I fail to see the connection."

"Minerva and Hendric Paul, founders of _Sulfur_, does that ring a bell?"

"I see what you're aiming at. Sorry to disappoint you. That book was very popular when..."

"What about Tamara Young? If you were to built up a fake company, you'd choose someone as alleged owner who's already dead. If I remember correctly, the file states that the Turks were sent to kill both Hendric Powell and Tamara Young. And – well, we've got all the information about them from you. Besides, it seems that two or three contact persons from _Sulfur_ have been identified as Turks who should have already been dead. And isn't it convenient that the company bought up what you couldn't prove is yours?" Oh, she had been so blind! But producing proof after proof was - a lot more exciting than getting angry about this issue. And really, what was there to be angry about but being stupid enough to fall for Rufus' scheme herself? They were certainly in a much better position in _Sulfur_ was not lead by a bunch of gung-ho terrorists.

"What about the terrorists?" Rufus pointed out. He seemed to be enjoying himself. Tseng looked as if he was only seconds short of loosing his stoic expression. "We wouldn't work hand in hand with the terrorists if you were right and _Sulfur_ is just a cover for the terrorists."

Tifa smiled. "That's the beauty of it; you seemed to be quite opposed of regarding _Sulfur_ as terrorists last time." And after what she had heard from Cloud, it seemed unlikely that they were connected. She asked herself why she had not noticed that before. "Most of all, if you were interested in finding out something about _Sulfur_, you wouldn't have any qualms to get me into trouble with Reeve."

"Now, that's not true. It... - It would be most unfortunate if you were to ruin your friendship with Reeve. But don't worry. We were actually hoping that you would do us the honour of staying. After all...," Rufus hesitated for a moment and Tifa found that strange, asked herself simultaneously if he was lying. Whether he had actually planned to ask her or just decided differently because she had found out about _Sulfur_. She hoped not. He sounded so sincere. Her eyes travelled to Tseng who did not betray the slightest irritation nor could she detect any of that tiny mischievous glint in Rufus' eyes she had seen him get when he had told half-lies to other people, as if it were actually fun to bent the truth just as far as it would go. Then, an almost shy smile edged on his lips that caught her off her balance. "After all, you will excuse me for saying so, we are friends. At least, that is how _I_ feel about our past – well, recent past association, anyway."

Tifa blinked. She did not know what to say, what to think. She felt as if somebody had pulled the floor from right under her.

"I'm sorry if I was presumptuous," Rufus added, looking discomforted. He had actually sounded as if he meant every word of what he had said. He looked as if he was hoping that she would not laugh straight at him or telling him that he was an idiot to believe that that feeling was mutual, and a moment later, Tifa realised that he was apologising and she felt just bewildered, felt so terribly guilty again, so terribly hurt by Cloud's behaviour. What was he playing at? She hoped so very much that he was saying nothing but the truth. "Not at all but... Are you – - I mean, what I – I should have never..." She felt run over. She had never, even more so after yesterday evening, dared to hope that the Turks – that Rufus would actually accept her explanation.

Rufus took a small breath. He was looking straight at her, his eyes of the strangest blue. "Now, Miss Lockheart – Tifa. As I understood the situation, you always hoped to be happy with Cloud. You searched us out to find him. That you'd want go back to him was the most natural choice, even if I might have preferred another – way. Besides, who am I to make an issue out of it? You were prepared to forgive me that I tried to have you executed. I would hate to loose your friendship because of mere hurt pride. I should have kept my temper in a better check yesterday evening - and before."

Tifa could not believe her ears and could only stare at him while inside her, her feelings ran turmoil, her heart warming rapidly. She had never, never in life believed he would forgive her for having hurt him (and most of all his pride) just like that. After a mere night of sleep. Even admitting that he had been wrong. And that he did not want to loose her friendship. Friendship? She had never thought in terms of that word, but... yes. It was a word she would have liked to describe their somewhat – complicated relationship with.

"What are you playing at?" She asked instead, narrowing her eyes.

"Nothing. Nothing at all." He replied her gaze, steadily. Cold blue eyes, both of them, and she could not detect a hint of deceit. Indeed, she did not care. There were so many reasons why he might want to keep her and none of them conflicted with her own desires. For at the moment, she felt just - estranged. As if she had walked out of a storm into a dry eye where the sun was shining and everything was alright again. Maybe Rufus was even saying nothing but the truth – she feared that to be the case. For, of course, he was right and if he wanted anyone to forgive him for Meteor, he had to be rather forgiving himself.

So, the reply came easily to her lips: "I would very much like to stay if, well, if you don't mind."

Suddenly, for the doubt of a second, a warm smile crossed his face. One with she had seen the last time – and maybe the first time – when they had been standing in that warmish sun, when she had promised to come to Junon together with the children, and for the doubt of that second she felt the rush of same blooming happiness inside her, as if everything would be alright again. As if there was no terrorist organisation out there who killed people to build human weapons. As if everything was just alright, and she realised how much she had missed them. How much she had missed Rufus.

"Good," Rufus stated, smiled, slightly, almost shyly, looked exactly as tired as before the smile had formed on his face. "Besides, of course, your arguments were rather valid and it will do the children good to have you around. And we would very much like to hear what further information you have concerning that group Cloud spent time with up North."

Tifa nodded, had to fight hard not to beam with that sudden delight of – being allowed to stay here without having to fight for it again – and the sudden realisation of how happy she actually felt about that prospect and how much she had really come to like Rufus as well as his strange collection of Turks. For a moment, however, she asked herself if their offer to keep her here had to do with her offer of telling them about what Cloud had said. But, she thought, she would have told them anyway and most certainly, they knew.

Tseng's face, of course, was not showing much, but he seemed to be not displeased. He nodded softly. "If you'd like to work with us, Elena can use any help she can get with the terrorists."

She felt herself smiling again. "That would be nice... I do have a question, though:"

Rufus raised an eyebrow. "Go ahead."

"Why _Sulfur_?"

"Isn't that obvious?" Rufus smirked and got up. "I believe your children will be here any minute now."

"How will you explain the `L', in good time?"

Tseng shrugged. "To commemorate his dead brother." He got up, too.

"His dead brother?" Tifa echoed and motioned to get up, feeling a sudden chill shoot through her bones as she thought of the rumours Cloud had quoted to her. That Rufus had allegedgly killed all his siblings.

"Do stay seated. We will be back in a moment. Lazard was my half brother," Rufus replied from the other end of the room. "Fell prey to another of Shin-Ra's rather unfortunate experiments with potential to destroy the world."

"Ah...," she hesitated a moment, taking in the small smile on Tseng's face, almost too small to noticed. It warmed her heart. So the Turk was still Rufus' loyal shadow despite all that had happened. "Did you have any other brothers and sisters?"

Rufus shrugged. "Who knows? I've never bothered to find out."

For an instance, she asked herself if she should ask Rufus about the rumours Cloud had mention. Just to be certain. But – Rufus really did not sound as if he cared. And why would Rufus even have his siblings killed? He had always been the only heir and he must have been close to the Turks even back then. No one would have gone against the Turks. So, she did not ask and just watched them leave the room, feeling almost happy for the first time in weeks.

Yes, she had longed to be back with them again. She had, too, longed to see Rufus again as much as she had tried to ignore that fact whenever she had been with Cloud. The offhandedness that even stole into his movements, that strange elegant way he used to dress, his mellow voice, the irony, sarcasm and even cynicism at times. The way he carried himself, head high, not like Cloud who mostly seemed to look sorry. Those smug expressions she so much wanted to wipe off his face at times. The guilty thrill that she still asked herself how much she could trust him. But, if he considered her as friend, the answer to that was rather easy.

* * *

_Thank you very much for reading again! Since I'm very busy, it might be that I won't find time to post next week, but I'll see what I can do._

_Next chapter will be about lunch._

_Please review!_


	53. Resistance is Futile

_Chapter is a little early since I'll be gone over the weekend. _

_Be prepared for lunch. _

_**Markaka Cthulu**: Thank you very much. I'm not yet sure what I'll do with Cloud, but I'm sure the children will hold him in high regard. You're right that Shin-Ra owes Tifa a lot more than she owes them. I'll try to pay attention to that in future._

_I hope you will enjoy._

* * *

Chapter 53: Elena: Residence is futile

_25. April, Friday, Early Afternoon_

It was a wonderful, most beautiful day. The sky was breaking grey, summer seemed to be coming in a festering hot deluge of rain, Tifa was here and would, most likely, bring doom upon them in form of Cloud, Shin-Ra was barely breathing anymore and her spin was feeling as if someone had taken it out and re-implanted it the wrong way round. But to Elena, this was a most wonderful and beautiful day.

Of course, sleeping on a couch had not made the night particularly restful, but waking with Tseng still close had perfectly made up for that. She felt a little guilty because Tseng would have needed a good rest – as they all did – but... well... he could have told her to leave, maybe? He could have just put a blanket over her and slip away. She was sure he was capable of it, without even waking her a tiny bit.

But. He had stayed on the couch. He had let her stay and fall asleep there. Or, maybe, he had fallen asleep first?

She was not sure about that, but fact was that she had woken on Tseng's stomach and, while it had not been the most comfortable way of awaking, it had certainly been the best so far.

And then, today, when she had been deeply absorbed in that horrible business of that terrorist Martha, she had caught him watching her from the door. He had taken her hand and listen to her. He had defended her in front of Rufus. She still could not believe Rufus had gotten that vicious, but, well... she kind of understood him, too. He had been fighting so hard, ever since Meteor and now, everything looked like Shin-Ra was truly going down. He had looked so angry, so forlorn. Tseng had looked so helpless, so much as if he wanted to do something but just did not know what.

Did Rufus often treat Tseng like that? She hoped not. Maybe he did not. Tseng would have not asked for an apology if he did. Or had Tseng asked for an apology for her sake? She felt her heart hammering at the thought but dismissed it. Certainly not. All Turks were equal, after all.

But Rufus had apologised, too, and had been his usual polite self again afterwards.

Thus, she thought, she was quite well prepared to face a lunch with the children (she liked those two), Tseng (of course), Rufus... and Tifa. At least, she hoped she was well prepared. When Tseng had hinted that Tifa might have to eat with them, she had almost – but only almost – not offered to join in for lunch; she still felt shabby about how she had treated Tifa the evening before. Given, Tifa had been horrible to Rufus, but... she had done nothing to her and – Elena just did not feel good about being rude to people who had not done anything particularly bad to her. She knew if she ever voiced that Reno would point out that she had chosen the wrong profession. But if she was completely honest with herself, Tifa had been far from as wrong as they had been for ages. She had just acted like she felt was right. You really could not blame her for that. It made Elena feeling worse about herself. She knew that Rufus was somewhat self-righteous or at least had realised that more with every day that had passed after Meteor. Reno would tell her that she was an idiot. That it was impossible to always make the right decision or treat people justly. Maybe it was. Still, Elena did not want to face Tifa. And she was pretty sure that the situation would be horribly awkward. Tseng had told her what had happened when they had last visited Reeve, and Tifa had been there. Rufus would be just horribly snide. But she could not leave Tseng alone with it.

She was so much looking forward to their search for that secrete entrance tonight. Even if she needed to sleep... what was better than being on a mission with Tseng?

So, Elena tidied her suit, took a deep breath and gave herself a short nod of encouragement before she entered the dining room. It was exactly a quarter to one in the afternoon, but when she opened the door to slip in, everyone had already gathered around the table and turned around to her when she entered. The food had already been served, Tseng was just getting out the analysis materia and even while the children were swarming around Tifa, Elena had the impression that everyone was staring at her.

"Uh... I'm sorry, I hope I'm not late?" Elena felt herself blush and called herself stupid to have said that. She was on time, she knew exactly. Tseng gave her a smile – ever so shortly – and she felt herself blush even more. Rufus' smug smirk however almost made her squirm. He looked exactly as if he knew about Tseng and her. Had Tseng told him anything? - They were so close friends! She hoped Tseng had not told him anything. But, maybe, that was even worse for... she told herself firmly to stop worrying herself sick and advanced, closing the door behind her.

"Looook! Tifa! I lost _another_ tooooth!" Marlene was just yodelling, proudly baring her teeth at her stepmother to display the victorious gap in her upper jaw. "I drew it _all_ by myself! Rufus said brave girls don't whine but draw their teeth themselves and I did it! I gave it a twist and it was out! There was _almost_ no blood!"

"Did he say that?" Tifa asked glowering into Rufus' direction.

Marlene nodded proudly. Denzel next to her was scowling exactly as broody as became a preadolescent teenager.

"Please sit down," Rufus pointed at the table.

Denzel dragged his feet to his chair, still wearing that uninterested scowl as if he could not care less that his mother was back and hoisted himself with the same gravity onto his chair, slumping over as if he was bowed by all the broody thoughts of the world. A frown from Rufus, however, got him to straighten his back in record time and put on a more sober expression. Elena grinned inwardly, sitting down. Together with that freshly cut hair, Denzel now looked almost like the most obedient child in the world.

"See?" Marlene piped who was still hanging on Tifa's arm. "Tseng's checking the food so no one's pigeoning us!"

Tifa – who had frowned a little at Denzel's immediate reaction – turned her head towards Rufus who looked somewhere between amused and annoyed. "Poisonous food? You've got to be kidding!"

"No, see!" Marlene pointed half way across the table. "He's checking the soup now and it looks all _weird_."

"Yeah," Denzel added and got up again, all his gravity forgotten now that he could secure Tifa's attention otherwise: "They tried to poison them before! And I just bet something's wrong with the soup!"

"Sit down, both of you! Just because your mother is back you don't need to behave like apes."

Elena almost grinned at Rufus' annoyed tone and tried to catch Tseng's eyes but Tseng was still busy with reading the materia. Instead, she caught the very smug expression on Rufus' face as Denzel dropped immediately onto his chair and Marlene turned to climb onto hers.

Tifa was now seriously frowning and looked even more as if she was immediately expecting an explanation.

Rufus smiled superiorly. "Shin-Ra's not exactly popular. Now, would you please sit down, too, so we can get started?"

Tifa did not sit down and Elena grinned at Tseng who was storing the materia back into his jacket. He smiled back at her and Elena felt a warm rush. "Not popular? There is a difference between not popular and people mixing poison into your food, Shinra!"

"Can you help me up, please?" Marlene interrupted and Elena saw her looking uncertainly from Tifa to Rufus to Tseng who was still busy with the materia. She had tried to climb onto the three cushions that elevated her to table level once seated, but the cushions had fallen down again.

Rufus turned to the child and lifted her up onto the three cushions. "I suppose there is. Then again, we already were at not popular before Meteor." He pushed Marlene's chair closer to the table.

"Not so close!" Marlene complained, sitting with her chest almost against the table now. Elena was pretty sure that had not been an accident.

Rufus pulled her back again - too far for her to reach anything. Definitely no accident.

"That's too far!" Marlene sounded slightly annoyed. "A bit closer! - Pleeeeease, Rufus?"

The millimetre she was pushed closer certainly did not help much. "That's still too far away!"

Rufus was grinning. "That better?" He pulled her away.

"No! Not at all! You're mean! I wanna sit - uh... about seven centimetre from the table. But not seven centimetre with the _edge_ of the chair but seven centimetre from my _star-numb_!" She had put her head so far back into her nape that she could look up at Rufus behind her chair. Tifa was frowning incredulous, at least, Elena would have interpreted her expression that way. It also looked as if a smile was half about to form itself on her face and Elena asked herself if that had not been Rufus' intention with starting that game - although he _did_ seem to like to play that trick on the girl. Maybe, because Marlene always got that indignant.

"Sternum," Rufus corrected her but pushed her into the appropriate distance. "It has nothing to do with stars."

"So you say!" Marlene protested but added very mannerly: "Thank you!"

Rufus grinned. "You're welcome. - Now, please, let us all sit down!"

Tifa blinked, seemed befuddled by the exchange, most certainly also because Marlene used a word like _sternum_ and maybe also because of the news of potentially being poisoned. She did not exactly look as if she liked the game. "You want to _eat_ this?"

"Don't worry, it's not poisoned," Tseng said in his cool, cool manner and his voice almost sent a shiver down Elena' spine. His black ponytail was still bobbing ever so slightly onto his jacket.

"You must sit down now, Tifa," Marlene insisted in a low voice from her upright position on the three cushions on her chair, seven centimetres from the table. "Otherwise, there'll be no dessert for you!"

Tifa looked at her, startled, and slowly sat down. "How often does this happen?" She looked rather discountenanced and, coming to think of it, it was perhaps a rather shocking matter that people were trying to poison them. Elena remembered that she had been rather shocked when Tseng had discovered the first poison, shortly after the riot in Edge.

Rufus shrugged. "It only happened thrice so far, counting yesterday's apples which most likely have just been subject to pesticide treatment while growing." He gave Elena a significant and rather annoyed look. Being somewhat spellbound between Tseng's almost bemused expression and the conversation that was unfolding Elena had completely forgotten that the spoon ladle was lying with her.

"I'm sorry, Shachou," she mumbled. She did not want to trigger a reaction as he had shown when they had visited him in his office ever again. She was still feeling all shaky about it. So, she quickly got up and started filling soup into the soup plates.

"And – you do nothing about it?" Tifa asked, incredulously.

"Now, we _do_ arrest the people responsible and have them tried. Well, apart from the last."

"What did you do to him?"

Elena put the last plate down in front of herself and sat down.

"Enjoy your meal." Rufus took up his spoon and Elena noted that the children had waited until he had done so. Tseng was wearing his usual non-committal expression but seemed to follow the discussion interestedly, taking up his spoon, too. "The last one was one of the NG-patients," he explained. "Elena had her questioned yesterday."

"She said they want to kill us and that they are sending people from the North to do so. She also said they had the ultimate hero...," Elena related, not certain whether Tifa agreed that poisoning people did justify to lock them up without further notice and do intensive questioning.

Rufus gave her a rather sharp look. "You haven't mentioned him."

Marlene, who seemed to have listened eagerly, looked at them, puzzled. "Who?"

"Sephiroth, of course," Denzel explained with all the condescension of an older brother.

"We don't think she has been talking about Sephiroth," Tseng said and Elena felt so terribly proud that he was talking about `we'.

Rufus raised an eyebrow. "Not? That's a change."

Tifa was frowning. "I think you might be right. From all that Cloud said it doesn't sound very much as if Sephiroth is involved this time."

"Perhaps, we should discuss this after lunch?" Rufus suggested. "It might not be a topic particularly suited for children."

"I'm old enough!" Denzel protested.

"Are you? Then, shouldn't you be old enough, too, to know where your left hand belongs to during dinner?"

Denzel blushed almost scarlet and put his left hand onto the table that had slipped down. "'m sorry..."

Marlene quickly tried to correct the grip around her fork. She looked rather awkward on the three cushions that were keeping her at table level and with the long and heavy silverware. Elena quickly winked at her and slowly put her hand around her spoon again to remind the girl how she was supposed to hold the fork and in the same moment saw Tseng smiling ever so slightly at that. She felt herself blushing and bit her lip. But she knew well enough that Rufus was not particularly tolerant to bad manners and how he had once threatened Reno that the man would eat outside if he did not learn how to behave himself properly. Or that he had threatened Denzel with buying a dog bowl if he continued to slump over like an animal.

"When did you have your hair cut, Denzel?" Tifa asked, frowning slightly at Rufus but obviously agreeing that Sephiroth was not exactly a topic for children.

"Last week," the boy replied and looked a bit uncertain about himself. Elena was not surprised. The hair cut had come about after Rufus had commented that the boy looked like a living flokati rug.

"It was quite necessary," Rufus commented.

Tifa narrowed her eyes. "He's only been to the barber a few weeks ago."

"My, I hope you refuse to pay that man."

"It is modern for kids to wear their hair like that," Tifa pointed out, a strain to her voice.

Rufus put his spoon down. "Another proof that fashion is nonsense, then. I prefer to know if I'm talking to his face or the back of his head."

Tifa looked him over. "You're certainly one to talk."

"I'm sure you know much more than I about parenting."

Elena felt that the children were certainly making the better deal if they kept Tifa as their mother. She had always thought that she had been subject to a rather strict education, but when they had discussed the rules that the children had to obey (it had been something much like a war council in the middle of the night), both Tseng and Rufus had forwarded quite a few rules that, in her eyes, were almost abnormal (don't speak unless spoken to; Tseng. Punishment when bad grades; Rufus). It had not surprised her much that Rufus' opinion about children seemed to be that the more toys they got the happier they were and the less time one needed to spent with them. However, she had been rather shocked when Tseng had remarked upon education that in Wutai, children and dogs had to show the same level of obedience. She hoped, fiercely, that he himself had not been subject to such rules. And she was surprised how well he treated the children despite of that. As if he had some experience in that matter. Or, maybe, she wondered, he was just very talented. But even the idea that he would let a child pull at his hair or spread food on his suit was too strange that she could really imagine it. Although... she could perfectly well imagine that any baby that came along would fall asleep in his arms instantly, however much it had been crying before. Or just stop crying with admiration.

She realized that she was staring at Tseng and that she had been for a considerate while and quickly turned away, only to catch Rufus addressing a smirk at her which made her blush ever so furiously. She had no idea what the conversation was about at the moment, but it seemed to be surprisingly pleasant.

Almost at the same instance, however, Denzel straightened his back. "Thank you very much for the meal. May Marlene and I leave?"

Rufus gave a short nod. "Go ahead. But do close the door behind you."

"Thank you very much for the meal," Marlene piped, too, and slipped down from those cushions, picking up the one she had knocked over in the process and placed it back onto her chair. Both children turned to leave and Denzel closed the door behind them, almost noiselessly.

Tifa was glaring daggers at Rufus.

Rufus leaned back. "Now, before we discuss matters of education, shouldn't we first turn to what you heard from Cloud about the present situation?"

For a heartbeat, Tifa still frowned, seemed about to contradict. Then, she nodded, slowly. "But don't think I'll forget."

"It seems unlikely. Now. What did he tell you?"

"He said that...," Tifa started and looked uneasy about the matter. "I mean... what do you know already?"

"We know there's a terrorist group made up of New Geostigma patients who have somehow learned to control their abilities and who want Shin-Ra destroyed," Tseng explained and Elena could only marvel at his calm.

"In addition," she added, "the woman who tried to kill Rufus last week said that they have already undermined our company and that … well, she said residence is futile and they'll kill us." Elena thought for a moment. There had been something else important. "Right... she also said that she met a woman who gave her the vials and taught her how to control the materia inside her. Uh... Reno says his source says he, well... he doesn't want to tell us. Says he promised."

Rufus sighed. "Really."

Tifa was frowning. "Cloud said that this group comes from up North and that their aims are to destroy you and turn this world into a better place. They use several vials for treatment which make it possible to cast spells, I suppose without playing the price. They seem to think that the main ingredient to these potions is the soul of a White Geostigma patient."

Rufus cocked his head. "Is it?"

Tifa lifted her shoulders. "I don't know - Cloud did not know, either."

Rufus raised his eyebrows. "Fancy."

"That's not exactly the word I'd choose. It gets better, though. Cloud says that they are planning a great attack to eradicate you."

Tseng, Elena noticed, was nodding and slowly put his napkin down. He looked deeply worried, deeply uneasy. "Do you think they'd stop if Shin-Ra stops existing?" He asked the question carefully, word for word, each pronounced separately. Elena noticed how he was not looking at Rufus. How he was not looking at anyone. But his shoulders were flexed back and she could see the strain that was keeping him immobile. They way his metal fingers in the dark glove dug into the napkin.

Rufus on the other side of the table looked equally strained, mouth drawn into a thin and pale line.

"I'm not sure. It sounded like murdering Rufus was the mean to tumble Shin-Ra and I'm pretty sure they are after your soul. But..."

"Now, then we know what they are looking for. Let's just hope we find them before they come searching," Rufus pronounced in a low voice that ran a cold shiver down Elena's spine. It was so very closed to their conversation before, and she noticed that although he hand cleaned his hand, there was still a tinge of black around the nailbed.

Tseng nodded, but Elena saw how his fingers dug deeper into the napkin. She wondered if he even felt it. "Of course, Shachou."

Rufus was frowning, pale. "I will not give up Shin-Ra."

Tseng made no reply and the sentence hung eerily over the table with Tifa looking from one to the other.

"I heard Reeve caught a few of them in an attack," she offered. "Maybe, that'll incapacitated them for a while. Maybe, we'll have enough time to find them."

Rufus nodded, silently.

Tseng rubbed his left shoulder as if it hurt. Elena felt a slight pang at the movement, worried. Tseng was doing that more and more often and she was very worried it was because something was wrong with his prosthesis or if he was really hurting – she was going to ask him about it. Or, better, if she found time, she'd look up what one could do against such pains. "We will definitely strengthen security."

Rufus nodded. "I'll talk to Reeve. _Sulfur_ – I'm not going to involve _Sulfur_ in this. We can't blow our cover just yet. Reeve will oblige."

Tifa frowned at that suggestion. "I could talk to Reeve, too."

Both Tseng's and Rufus's heads turned into her direction which gave Elena ample time to study the profile she had been so close to that evening before. And still she felt how his chin had gently rested on her hair. His smell so close up. His beautiful hand. Gaia, she even liked that metal arm.

Rufus looked at her. "Reeve will definitely be less... adverse if you approached him."

Tifa smiled and Elena was almost surprised how genuine that smile looked. And how worried. What business had Tifa being worried about Rufus?

"Then, Tseng and I will take care of the dishes. If... if there's anything you need, you will find me in my office... and probably Tseng, too. The children will return around six o'clock and supper will be at seven. We'll all meet here again." Rufus folded his napkin up.

"The big office?" Tifa asked and looked uneasy.

Rufus shook his head. "No. I don't like that one. Mine is on the next floor, you can't miss it." He got up, hesitated a moment and then gave a short nod into Tifa's direction. "Good afternoon."

"Wait a moment," Tifa said, sharply. "I still wanted to talk to you about the children."

Elena grinned inwardly and noticed that Tseng was very bemuse, too. Of course, Rufus had tried to avoid exactly that topic.

"Right."

"Don't worry, Shachou, Elena and I will deal with the dishes," Tseng suggested calmly and Elena felt her heart beating faster at the suggestion. More time to talk to Tseng! She felt herself grinning at Rufus.

"Well, whatever. This way, please, Tifa." He opened the door, held it for Tifa, gave Tseng a glare and left the room. Elena found herself alone, facing Tseng, and all the questions she had wanted to ask evaporated from her brain, all the daring ideas she had had without courage.

Tseng was standing at the other side of the table, looking pale and tired and somewhat lost. He rubbed the connection to his arm. "Well, let's clean the table."

Elena smiled at him and gave a short nod.

"Tonight, we'll have to look in the old president's office for a button with an `L' imprinted on it," Tseng said while slowly putting the dishes together. "It'll most likely be under the table or somewhere in the close surrounding."

Elena nodded. "Uh... I've been looking into the database." She blushed. "It, um, it said the building was renovated twenty years ago."

Tseng nodded, smiled at her. "Let's hope that Rufus's father didn't just build that other exit to mock Rufus."

Elena blinked. "Did he?"

Tseng shrugged. "I don't know."

"But – I mean, how? I mean, why would he mock him? The tower was built, what, like, twenty-three years ago – Rufus can't have been much older than five back then!"

Tseng put the dishes onto the small wagon. "He suggested the escape route back then. His father, he says, found that rather silly. He says his father built the route to mock him."

Elena shook his head. "I can't believe that – I mean, nobody mocks a child of five... nobody normal, anyway?"

Tseng smiled. "Let's hope he wasn't. Mocking, I mean. Upon that depends if we find that escape or not."

* * *

_Thank you very much for reading. I hope you enjoyed. _

_Next Chapter: Tifa. She'll talk to Rufus about the children. Or, rather, about education._

_Please do review._


	54. Wish You Were Here

_The aftermath of lunch.  
_

**SansaStark: Yes, Tifa is aware that _Sulfur_ is Rufus's doing.**

**OneAboveAll-Marvel101: Thank you very much! I do not know, yet, whether I will write a story about Cloud. For this story, another appearance of Cloud is in planning, however, I'm also only planning another 5-10 further chapters, so, since this story is focussing on Tifa and Rufus, there won't be much room for Cloud in this story.  
**

_Please enjoy the next chapter. _

* * *

Chapter 54: Tifa: Wish you were here

_25. April, Friday, Afternoon_

Rufus leaned forward to call the elevator, pushing the button with his slender index-finger. "We can also take the stairs if you like."

Tifa shook her head, trying to rearrange her feelings. "No, the elevator will be fine." She could see it coming up from the lowest stories and quickly stole a glance at Rufus from the side. He was still looking tired, had dark smudges under his eyes, lips pressed into a thin line. He had seemed almost desperate when he had uttered that he was not going to give up Shin-Ra. She had never thought that his mood could change that mercurially – or that he could blow his cool that quickly. Maybe, it had been because he was that tired. Maybe, it had also been because loosing Shin-Ra had to be something like the end of the world for him. After all the effort he had put into Shin-Ra. After all that had happened in winter. After all the fight he – they were putting up with. A fight which would maybe destroy him sooner or later. And yet, after all what happened, his voice had made evident that he would still fight.

The elevator binged to a halt and the doors slid open.

"After you, if you please."

She smiled, saw no reaction on his face as she passed, caught the faint scent he carried around with him, wanted so much to take his hand and squeeze it and tell him that everything would be alright. She saw his reflection in the mirrors, leaned into his scent as he pressed the number for the next story. He seemed uneasy. Because of the children? Maybe. His treatment of them was outrages and - unexpected. She had not thought he would ever play games with any of them. Not that kind of game he had played with Marlene. She asked herself if he had also played it because she had been present and he had wanted to demonstrate - what? That he got along with the children? That he was not as horrible with children as she had claimed last time when she had caught him teaching Marlene how to assemble a pistol? ... But he must have played that game before with Marlene - she had known that a game was on and had solved it in a way Tifa supposed they had taught her before. ... Otherwise, she would not have known the term `sternum'. Had Rufus acted that way to improve her opinion of him or just because he had wanted to tease Marlene because he liked the girl? The thought that he _could_ do something else than teaching her children how to assemble arms was - sweet? Or was he uneasy to have her around at all?

"I haven't yet thanked you for … for preparing breakfast for me, that was very kind." She felt awkward, she realized.

"Don't mention it." He hesitated and she noticed that he had returned to his side of the elevator. "I hope you had an enjoyable morning?"

"Yes. Thank you. How was yours?" She would have liked to draw closer, felt her inside warm, happy to be talking to him again. Seeing him again. His Turks. Especially him.

"Less so." He smiled weakly.

The elevator came to a halt and spit them out on another story that was busy with people, and he let her down the corridor over the stony floor.

"You look tired." She saw him stiffen at that remark.

"I wonder." He was smirking wryly. She wondered if his lips were still cold or if they would actually be warm.

"Is Shin-Ra is really in as bad a situation as Tseng says?"

He opened the door at the other end of the corridor and let her into an almost empty but rather big room, caught him smirking as she passed. "Now, that's a business secret, of course. You are looking tired, too."

"I've been looking for my children over the last few days." I've been arguing with Cloud for almost two months, I missed you all, I'm so sick of all of this. She asked herself if Rufus had admitted anything with his last reply. But most likely, he did not need to. Shin-Ra had to be in a pretty bad shape if he looked as worn as that. If Tseng hinted that maybe, they should give up the company. He led her to a few armchairs that were grouping around a small table and she had to check herself not to reach out for his hand. She noticed that she actually liked the way he moved.

The weather had changed, sun shimmering on the pristine, stony floor, drew soft shadows onto the wooly carpet below the table. White clouds in the blue sky. Drops were glittering on the huge windows.

"I'm sorry for that. We should have called you, but I was hoping that Cloud would come and you wouldn't get into further trouble because of the entire situation. - Please, sit down. Would you like something to drink?"

She shook her head. The carpet was soft under her feet and she did not believe him. "Thank you for taking care of the two," she said nonetheless.

He smiled. His too much of clothing rustled when he passed by and she suddenly realised that she was hoping he had lied because he still felt too much for her. It had been sweet how Denzel had been eagerly talking to him before they had entered the room and the children had noticed her. It had been sweet how Rufus had teased Marlene. He had even seemed to enjoy that... She had never thought that _anything_ about him would be adequate to deal with children. Well, most was not, as it seemed.

He pushed the pieces of bleached paper on the table into perfect order. A broken pen was lying on another paper, it had been cleaned, but ink had oozed from it again onto the white paper, like dark blood. The sun was shining into the room, drawing shadows. It was warm. "Do you like them?"

"The children?"

Tifa nodded.

Rufus seemed to contemplate her question for a minute, frowned. "I...," he shrugged. "I suppose I like them."

Tifa looked at him, at the pale lips and the hair that was cut almost short now compared to what she was used to. He had admitted what he had said; she had never seen him admit anything without a condescending sneer when he lied. So, he had not lied?

Rufus crossed his fingers, leaned a little forward in the armchair. "Now. I'm aware that the rules we set up for your children are not in agreement with those you set up for them. I discussed which rules to put up with my Turks and I have refrained from teaching them anything about weapons although I still maintain that it might be useful to them."

Tifa took a deep breath. As much as she was thankful to see them again – as much as she felt happy about the peace that suddenly seemed to surround her – she still felt more than irritated about the treatment the children received. "Don't you think your rules are a little... _harsh_?"

"Harsh?" Rufus looked almost surprised. She wondered she should have surprised him. If anything, she would have thought that he would indulge the children more than be particularly harsh. Yet, he had never before struck her as very skilled with children, rather at loss with them. And, maybe, having been subject to every possible indulgence as a child, he thought a little differently about education.

"Well, yes. Having them ask for permission before they leave the table for example."

"Now, it's perfectly impolite to leave the table while conversation is still on going or while other people are still eating. I'm – Tifa, I'm well aware that you weren't raised under the best circumstances, and I am ready to admit that your manners are toler- uh – good enough for most kinds of events. But your children have not even acquired your set of manners. When they arrived here, they slumped over at the table. They did not always keep both hands above the plate. They did not wait their turn at being served and if they were, they did not always wait for the rest of us. They got up when they thought they had waited long enough, even though others at the table weren't completely finished, yet. They were unpunctual. They used their silverware incorrectly. They didn't even spread their napkins and when I told them to do so they tied them around their necks. In the common room, they left chaos upon leaving and said they'd tidy up in the evening but just localized the chaos to certain spots. I know they went through a lot, but..."

It took Tifa a while to find her tongue again once Rufus had started. She was first embarrassed and then fumingly mad. Embarrassed because he thought her manners just `tolerable'. Embarrassed because he thought that she was teaching her children badly. But even more furious because he dared to criticise the children that harshly and imply that she had done so much wrong – with such exaggerated ideas of behaviour!

"That's just sick! What do you expect of them? They are just children!...!"

"The more they should learn about good behaviour now, so they'll not embarrass themselves later." His tone was becoming slightly hostile now and she realized that she had snapped. Gaia, she did not want to fight with Rufus, too.

"Do you expect them to function like machines? Would you also expect them to obtain nothing but good grades?"

"If they were my children, I certainly wouldn't tolerate laziness."

"You obviously don't know anything about children." She tried to stay calm. After all, the Turks and he had taken the children in and had tried to take good care of them and after what Rufus had just pronounced, his intentions had been good.

Rufus was frowning now but did not fly into open anger with his reply, raising only an eyebrow: "Now, I never claimed I did nor did I ever aspired to take care of any brats. I clearly don't see your point. Where's you problem? Do you not want your children to be successful? Do you want to expose them to ridicule?"

Tifa gave a sigh. She was in no mood to discuss education with Rufus. She certainly didn't want to argue with him. "Of course I want them to be successful. But to be successful, they need to learn that mistakes are okay. That there are things they can do and others they can't and that it doesn't matter. Bad grades aren't grave because – we all make mistakes. You can't expect a child to always write good grades or be good at school. Or never to make mistakes. That's exactly how you'll hurt them. Badly. Everyone has different talents. Some... some might not be good at school but very talented in other areas. And that's alright."

He looked at her incredulously. "My, I never expected you to be that soft. But - " he got up. "How about this: I don't care a fig about how they perform at school, but as long as they are sitting at my table, they'll behave themselves."

Tifa got up, too, feeling more helpless than angry. Who on Gaia had infused that man with such maxims? "Behave? Your rules have nothing to do with behaviour, they are exaggerated!"

"Are they? And yet, if they were to dine in good company, they'd be frowned upon if they didn't at least follow those rules. My, I have to say I'm very much surprised Reeve never mentioned it to you!"

He was standing only half a metre from her, looking at her almost too tiredly to look belligerently. Their conversation, she realised, was almost void of any true anger. He seemed too tired to do more than just back up his point. She was certainly too tired of fighting. It embarrassed her that he thought she was preparing the children too illy for life. But... if someone knew about good behaviour, it was certainly him, although she had often enough seen him not behave terribly well... always suspecting that he knew exactly which rule he was breaching and doing it with full intention. And some of those rules he had quoted were just silly. But... in good time when he would try to enforce them, she would have opportunity enough to reason with him and protect the children. After all, she would be around now. Reason with him. Reason with Rufus Shinra. She studied him in the blazing light that fell into his face from the side, made it stand out in almost black and white, harshly lit the wrinkles that were forming in his face, every impurity on his skin as he moved further into the light. She had never thought she would one day believe that this man could be reasoned with.

She nodded. "Alright. But... just tell them to sit up straight or do whatever you think they should do. Don't... don't let them have no desserts because of minor things."

Suddenly, there was a mischievous grin on his face as he turned. "Don't worry. I'm rather creative."

Tifa gave a sigh and asked herself if he was just plainly stupid when it came to understanding things he did not care about. "No punishments unless absolutely necessary." She suspected that `absolutely necessary' for him was a far cry from what she would have termed so. "It works, trust me."

"Does it?"

"You'll see." She smiled and after a second, he replied the smile, lighting up his pale face, the sun that was falling into the room blanching him away until he almost became one with that white surrounding. Apart from the black that was standing out almost softly, like darker shadows. The waistcoat, the dark shirt on that pale skin, only just exposing the collar bones. The eyelash that was lying on his cheek from when he had rubbed that eye. She asked herself if he was still wearing that contact. If his eye was still red. But Denzel's white spots had not disappeared, either.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?"

Tifa shook her head. "No, thank you."

He gave a nod, then took up a piece of paper from that orderly stack on the table, produced a pen from his jacket and wrote several words onto the piece of paper using the armrest of one of the armchairs before he pointed the piece at her. "Here. If you want to, you can help Elena. She certainly needs help. If not, you are welcome to return to our story. Password is your Cloud's birth date."

She reached out for the slip of paper felt her fingers brushing against his thumb. "That's a strange choice for your password."

He let go of the piece of paper, smirked. "Now, that's the intention."

She nodded. She was surprised that he trusted her far enough to tell her the password, but perhaps, he merely trusted her good judgement; she would also endanger the life of her children if she betrayed it.

"He isn't my Cloud." She added that afterthought and was surprised by the statement and almost astonished that she felt only regret and no sorrow.

He turned, heading for his desk, halfway lost in the vast room already. "Whatever."

It was strange how that word gave her an ugly stab, and for a moment, she just watched him cross the room, against the bright and intense sunlight. A shadow that almost became one with those rays. She remembered that his skin had looked several shades paler than hers when he had given her that slip of paper, and certainly not the healthy kind of pale. He did not look happy. Preoccupied, irritable, his smirks just tired. But from the sharpness in his tone when he had remarked that she looked tired, from the shortness of his answers, really, and what she knew so far, he would not appreciate any attempt of help. Rather tear her apart than letting her help.

She told herself that she could not care less. If someone did not want help, she was certainly not to force it upon him. She was certainly too tired for that fight. And too old to think that she could save anyone. Moving away, sunlight fading around her, she recalled that all of the Turks had looked as worn and tired as Rufus.

If she needed a proof that Shin-Ra was at the brim of falling apart, that was as evident as it got.

And still they fought.

Still Rufus was not prepared to give up.

She shook her head, entered the elevator when it came. It was going to kill them. But, maybe, that was what she found so fascinating about Rufus. That he still fought. No matter how often he had been defeated. That he had gotten up every single time and just refused to give in.

Maybe, it was stupid to admire someone for that. After all, it was obvious that they were destroying themselves with it.

Still.

When she had reached the common room again (empty once more, not a trace left of anyone ever having entered it but the drawings and the book on the coffee table), she got out her mobile and typed in Reeve's number.

\\

Reeve picked up his phone after a moment of hesitation, but it was Tifa's number that showed. Or, maybe, he hesitated because her number showed. It could have been so easy, now that everything returned to normality in Edge and he could finally finish the town. Without interfering of Shin-Ra. Even if the plans to the reconstruction of Edge were Rufus's, but who was to know?

He almost was thankful that _Sulfur_ had come into appearance. If only he knew who they were. But they were taking good care of Shin-Ra and that was more than he had ever managed. He hoped he would be able to make contact, soon. At least, before Shin-Ra did. He did not want Rufus to do any talking with them. Rufus, he felt, was way too persuasive.

"Yes?" he said into the phone.

"Hi, this is Tifa. How are you, Reeve? How are things getting along in Edge?"

He leaned back in his chair, turning to the vast panorama, the buzzing town at his feet. Soon. Soon, there would be democracy. And then? What would he do then? He would like to ensure peace. He would like to make WRO a guarantor of peace and happiness for all those people down there.

"Are you on your way back?" he asked.

"No... I'm going to stay here... just in case Cloud comes. You know, I owe Shin-Ra to spare them that trouble... they've got trouble enough at their doorstep."

Reeve drew in a deep breath. Yesterday evening, he had finally gotten the report from the questioning of the terrorist who had tried to blow up the bridge. Now, he at last knew what their aim was. Did Shin-Ra, too? "Cloud was here this morning."

"Oh." That was all that Tifa said at the other end of the phone and Reeve felt irritated by it when he thought back about how perplex Cloud had arrived here this morning. He had told him about the things he had heard. Tifa had to know, too. So, certainly, Shin-Ra knew by now.

"He is worried, you know?"

"Maybe," Tifa said. "I think he heard a lot of nonsense up north."

"Tifa. Can't you – I mean, he's really worried. He misses you." Reeve was not sure if that was true. If he was honest, he rather doubted it. But Cloud wanted to protect Tifa, and even if Reeve did not see Shin-Ra not in as bad a light as Cloud did, he tended to agree. He did not want either Tifa nor her children under Shin-Ra's influence. He doubted that anything good would come from Shin-Ra. Rufus would use her and then, he would drop her. And who knew what they would do to the poor children?

"Reeve. Just... stop it, okay. Cloud and I... well, it's not working out. Not... not presently."

"Are you very angry with him?" Reeve knew that Cloud was not particularly skilled in expressing things moderately.

"Angry? No. I'm not angry with him."

"Would you see him again?"

"Now?"

It was clear from her voice that she was not going to agree just now. So, Reeve shook his head. "No. He's," he searched for an excuse that at the same time would tell her how desperate Cloud had sounded, "he's up North again. He was really distraught."

"Up north? Well. If he's back, he's welcome." Her voice had softened and Reeve felt relieved.

"I would feel good if you were to return to Edge, then."

Tifa hesitated a moment and Reeve felt almost guilty for his rui de guerre. But he did not want her to stay longer with Shin-Ra than absolutely necessary.

"Not yet. I mean, maybe Cloud comes this way. Besides, you of all know that Shin-Ra isn't evil and that they are trying their best to make up and help with the resurrection of the world..."

"Do you think so?"

"Yes. And I know you do so, too."

Reeve massaged his eyes. She was right. As little as he liked Rufus – as much as he mistrusted him and his plans, he was sure that, at the moment, the man did want to rebuild the world. The problem with Rufus was only – even if he was willing, even if that was not a lie, Reeve doubt that it would do much good in the end. He hoped that he was mistaking about that, but he feared that there was a catch somewhere. "Yes. I believe he's presently doing the planet good."

"See?"

"Have you learned anything about _Sulfur_?" he asked, anxious to know. He did not want Shin-Ra to know more than he did.

Tifa hesitated for a moment. "Well, I'm not sure, but they seem to know something. They've... I mean, they know about our connection, so they didn't say anything explicitly."

"You don't think they want me to know what they know?"

"No. They definitely don't want you to know."

Reeve felt a wave of anger rising. Those pretentious bastards! "Can you find something out?"

"Can I be your spy, you mean?" Tifa sounded testy.

"I'm not asking you to do anything immoral, just... keep your ears open, okay?"

Tifa gave an irritated sigh. "I can't promise anything. Really, Reeve, I'm their guest! I can't spy on them!"

"They are Shin-Ra, Tifa. They would do the same thing."

"Well, I'm not them!"

"No, of course you aren't," Reeve hastened to say. But Tifa's reply sounded very much so as if she thought that what he said was true.

"Well... if they tell me and don't swear me into secrecy, I'll tell you..."

"That's great!"

"Reeve... I'm... it seems likely that Junon will be subject to another attack. They told me. They, well, they questioned someone."

"Yes," Reeve nodded. "That's quite likely. I mean, it seemed so far as if these terrorists are targeting Shin-Ra property only." Quite likely put it mildly. The summary he had read only a short while ago clearly stated that this group was planning another attack. A final attack that went even beyond what they had done in the harbour. When, they had not figured related. But they were planning to take Shin-Ra down. Everyone and Rufus in particular. Judging by their man power and Shin-Ra's state, Reeve would not be surprised if they were to succeed.

"Could we... I mean, is there any way that we could help the people here?"

"Shin-Ra, you mean?"

"Well, yeah. In the end, them, too."

"Did Rufus asked you to ask?"

"No. I don't think he knows I'm calling. I think he would be most displeased if he knew I did. I know you mistrust him, but it's not about Rufus. It's about the people, too. I mean, look at how many people are working for Shin-Ra. I think we should help Shin-Ra to protect them. I'm sure they'll pay us back."

"If they pay us back, I'm very much afraid it won't be in a nice way, Tifa."

"That's silly. You were the one who told me that Shin-Ra has changed. That we didn't need to fear them. That... that Shin-Ra might have done bad things before Meteor but that they had changed and that Rufus is a business man. I'm sure your verdict was right, Reeve."

Reeve gave a sigh. He remembered well how distrustful – how frightened – Tifa had been when she had phoned him in the middle of winter to tell her that she and the children were staying at Shin-Ra Inc.. How worried he had been even though it had been more than clear that Shin-Ra would not harm them. Perhaps it had been then that he had decided to protect them better. He was not going to fail this time. "Tifa... I'm not sure... haven't you heard what Rufus said to Cloud two weeks ago on the top WRO's roof?"

Tifa seemed to think for a moment. "He told him that his view of the world was too simple."

Reeve was not sure if she had even understood it. He was not even sure if anyone but him knew what Rufus had actually been saying. "Just before he left. When he almost shouted at Cloud."

"Yes," Tifa confirmed. She sounded impatient. She had not understood a word.

"Well, actually, what he said, then, was that Avalanche is as guilty as Shin-Ra is. He's lying, Tifa. He doesn't regret a single thing, don't you see? He thinks he's just like you. He thinks he's done nothing wrong!"

Reeve waited for Tifa's horror, waited for the shocked breath at the other end of the phone.

It did not come.

Instead, Tifa gave a sigh. "Reeve. All Rufus said was that he was sorry for what Shin-Ra has done before Meteor. He excused for things that weren't even his fault. He has every right to react angrily if someone implies that he's lying about being sorry. I mean, I would be angry, too. And – he's right. We killed for our aims when we were with Avalanche."

"Tifa!" Reeve was almost shocked when he heard those words. "Rufus Shinra isn't sorry. He doesn't give a damn! He didn't change a iota. He's giving us the big show, but when all is said and done, he'd still rule the world with fear if he could! - And, what we did in Avalanche – it's not the same! We didn't kill just to keep power or just for the fun of it! We killed because we had to!"

Tifa was silent for a moment. "I'm sorry, Reeve, but I'm not sure you're right. I think that all killing is still murder in the end. And... I think they've changed. But..."

"Ask him, Tifa. Ask him if he believes in democracy." Reeve was sure she knew the answer already. He, for one, did.

Tifa gave a sigh. "Whatever you're thinking, Reeve, that's still no reason not to help protect the people here."

"If Shin-Ra can't protect them, maybe they should go."

"Right," Tifa said, but it was not in agreement. She sounded tired and Reeve just did not understand why – how – they could suddenly be disagreeing that greatly. They had always gotten on so well. He hoped that she would change again once she was back in Edge. He did not know where those thoughts had come from that made her disagree with him, but maybe, he had been too right when he had thought that Rufus poisoned everything around him.

"I'm sorry, Tifa. But... we have to think about who the enemy is and I don't think Shin-Ra really is on our side. I'm sorry to tell you, but... that's the way I see it."

Tifa gave a sigh. "Yes. I'm sorry, Reeve. I shouldn't – well, I shouldn't have intruded into politics. You're right. It gets things destroyed. But, please. Don't think about Shin-Ra or Rufus. Think about the people here. Will you?"

Reeve nodded, rather mechanically. "Of course I will."

He could almost see Tifa smile when she replied. "Thanks. I hope I'll see you again, soon."

"Yes, I hope so, too."

Reeve disconnected the telephone and stared at the device in his hands. Politics got friendships broken. And Shin-Ra did so even quicker. He should have known that Tifa's connection to Rufus would result in nothing good. But back then, he had not seen Rufus as clearly as he did now. He was sorry for it and he hoped very much that Rufus would find happiness some place else, but for the sake of their all future – for the sake of democracy, it was best if Shin-Ra finally fell.

* * *

_Well, that is it for this week again. I hope you enjoyed._

_Please review.  
_


	55. Change

_Thank you again for all of your kind reviews and the great resonance! I've tried to take better care of this chapter which thus took a while longer. However, it also took a while longer because this chapter was much longer before._

_**SansaStark**: Thank you very much for pointing out that Tifa's relationship to Tseng (after Tseng made his threat) is a bit too friendly! Concerning her relationship to the other Turks: She's not that unfriendly with Reno and Rude in Advent Children, so I decided to stick with that._

_**Kadajclone, Markaka Cthulu, IceQueen69**: Tifa's relationship with Reeve is not so very simple at the moment since Reeve is rather jealous of Rufus which makes it difficult for him to see Shin-Ra in a better light. For Tifa, although she does not know that Reeve is jealous, this means that she feels somewhat like spying if she told Reeve about Shin-Ra's plans… loyalties, I'm sorry to say, have started shifting a little. I'll see if they'll find a way to work it out!_

_**ahsoka-force-hound: **I'm sure you're right with saying that the rest of Avalanche might be somewhat hurt by Tifa's behavior! I will see whether I'll find a spot for their views!_

_Thank you for sharing all of your doubts about the story! I will try to address them and most of all keep the story as realistic as I am capable of (I'll do my best)!_

_I hope you will enjoy._

* * *

Chapter 55: Rufus: Change

_End of April, Afternoon_

Tifa was sitting alone in the common room drinking what seemed to be tea. Rufus had pushed the door opened and hesitated now to come in. He had hoped to find Tseng here before Tseng, to spent at least a few minutes of this day with his Turk before Tseng left for Kalm, but who knew where Tseng was again? He was so incredibly busy these days, too, looked so very tired. Rufus knew Tseng was doing his best to keep his back free and wished that they could just go back to the days where they had worked busily – yes, but not worked themselves almost senseless. But that was impossible now, was it not?

He knew his temper was short these days, knew he had lost it around Tseng and his Turks too often to be justifiable. He could do whatever, it seemed, but Shin-Ra was just slipping further and further. There would not even be enough money to pay WRO at the start of the next month.

Poor. Pathetic, that he who had inherited the world should be poor within four, almost five years. All _Sulfur_'s contracts would not be valid before the start of next month and would only start paying before at its end. He hoped that no plant would fail. At the moment, there just was not enough money to repair them. At the moment, he did not even have enough money for enough employees to repair them.

Shin-Ra swallowed up all the money they were making. The hush up money for all the people who knew about _Sulfur_, the orphanages and hospitals they had been forced to run for free. WRO was growing stronger in Junon with each day, trying to press Shin-Ra away. While Reeve was still smiling at him, WRO was feeding on those employees Shin-Ra was forced to dismiss and _Sulfur_ had not yet the power to reemploy.

_Degrading_.

The cleaning up of the harbour gulped up millions as did the repairs in Surna or the liabilities from the riot in Edge. But _Sulfur_, even if soon profitable, was nothing but a pathetic farce.

Maybe his father had been right. Maybe, he had been too young, too idealistic. Maybe, his concepts were indeed too stupid and he had gotten it all wrong. Meteor had not been his fault, alright. But the riot had been at least to parts his fault. The terrorists were _not_ his fault. Still. If he had been good enough, this would not have presented much of a problem.

Maybe, his father had been right when he had called him spoiled heedless.

Or, perhaps, that bloody button should not have been installed because his father had been far too aware that kings should fall with their empires. That, if they survived, they could only lose more.

He just should not feel this empty or void or helpless in face of this all.

"Are you not going to come in?" Tifa asked looking at him.

For a heartbeat, he still hesitated, drew in a breath, then entered, closed the door carefully behind himself, tried to suppress the hammering of his heart. Maybe, it was even good that Tseng was not here presently. Tifa acted much more dismissive when Tseng was around as if making clear that she did not care about his threat to kill Cloud if she got too close to him, Rufus, again. Rufus had not told Tseng to back off from his threat. For one, he knew that in the present situation, the ground of this threat and thus the threat itself had become void. Secondly, because he was not sure what to make of Tifa herself. Maybe, Tifa found Tseng's threat even laughable and had also stayed to help them against Cloud to point _that_ out. Rufus certainly would have done that. But he would have said so, as well. And he just did not know how he should behave around her. He was sure that all that he was reading into her actions was just wishful thinking, if not due to the threat. She liked him, so much for certain, but as a friend and nothing more. She was here because she wanted to make sure that Cloud did not make further trouble, because the children were in a safe surrounding here and maybe also because she could earn some money to set up her bar again.

Only that and nothing more.

And yet, he loved every movement she made, every time she only looked at him, every breath she took. Even her ridiculous way of dressing was so inanely endearing. It drove him sick that she was just a friend. Maybe, he should ask her for some tips about business. After all, her bar had never crashed, yet (only been crushed, but he better did not make _that_ pun aloud). He wanted to see her so much every second he did not and it hurt so much to be close and know that he would never be closer.

"How's work going?" Tifa asked. She always asked that when they met, as if she cared.

He shrugged, felt his heart pounding. Maybe, she did. "Same trouble, different day."

"That bad, hn?"

He shrugged. "We _are_ still alive." Yet.

"There is still tea," she said when he filled the electric kettle with water. "Would you like some?"

He hesitated. "If you please." He took a mug from the cupboard and walked over. Maybe, he could indulge himself to a few minutes of talking to her. She usually seemed to be here around this time of the day. Why could she not love him?

"Elena told me yesterday that you are doing a very good job. Have you been responsible for investigations somewhere before?" He had wondered about that and was now wondering again as he sat down on the couch opposite to her. How could Cloud have been so stupid to let her go? How could he, Rufus, have been so stupid not to, well, be less of an idiot around her? But love was not about idiocy. It was about genes and smells and chemistry. All about thrice damned pain. And a lot beyond control.

She smiled, leaned back. "No, well, that is, I worked on _Sulfur_ for Reeve, of course, and I did quite a bit of research to find out where Cloud might have disappeared to, after Sephiroth burned Nibelheim down. Didn't find much there, though."

"I can imagine," Rufus nodded, sipped at the tea. It was a bit cold already. "Do you like it, then?"

Tifa shrugged. "It's a bit more challenging than leading a bar, although I think I much prefer my bar."

"How so?" He would have despised to lead a bar.

"Life's simpler there. People come to drink or to play cards or just for conversation. Some come for a kind word and company. Well, some just come to get drunk and cause trouble, but – they don't come to kill you, and motives are usually pretty clear. Here, everything is full of second motives." She smiled at him. "Don't tell me that life's not that simple and people always have second thoughts and motives. I know that. Still, I like my bar. Also, hours are pretty clear. I work in the evenings and clean it more thoroughly after I get up. There are quite a few nice people coming, there are interesting conversations going on – you wouldn't believe what I've learned already from customers at the bar!... You might think you can only have good conversation with highly educated people, but – that's just not true. Highly educated people think so highly of themselves and mostly, they are just bores. Anyway, there are a lot of interesting things going on in a bar and it never gets boring. Also, it's easy to keep the balances. I don't think I would like to work for a company. I mean, you rarely leave your computer screen and you're working yourself sick. Where's time for yourself and your friends? When was the last time you took a day off or spent a day on a beach or read a book or whatever you do for fun – see, I don't even know what you do for fun!"

He nursed his tea, felt strangely hurt by her verdict. Why was the tea only lukewarm anyway? "I like reading. I thought the library gave that away." He had read quite a lot, after all. And saying that he enjoyed knowledge and scheming and shooting just would not do.

"I used to read a lot as a child."

"Indeed?" He could not really imagine. Nothing about Tifa suggested that she was much into reading. Indeed, if he should have pictured her as a child, he would have pictured her running around outside and getting fried crisp by the sun while she put her body through some ordeal. He was almost surprised that there was _something_ they should have in common.

She nodded. "Yeah. Once, each month, the library on wheels came to our village and I got tons of books. Usually, I was through with them when the month wasn't yet half done." She smiled. He liked that smile.

"I can imagine that was very hard." He smiled back, tried not to make it look condescending. He had never run out of books to read. Given, he had never run out of anything material he had ever desired.

"Oh, I think my parents were rather thankful. That meant I spent the second half of the month practising more on my piano. When we weren't running around outside."

"I didn't know you were playing the piano."

"Haven't ever since Nibelheim burned down. Haven't read many books since then, either."

He thought that she could not have read many educational books back then, either. But most likely, the library on wheels did not carry books like `A history of Gaia'. He was not even sure if books like that might have been banned. There were quite a few books he had held in hands of which he had discovered later that they were not accessible for the public. "Will you have the children learn it? The piano, I mean?"

"Only if they want to."

"I once heard that musical education furthers intellectual development in children."

Tifa gave a sigh. "You know, one _can_ also do things just because they are fun. It doesn't always need to be useful. I wouldn't force my children to learn an instrument just because I think it furthers their intellecutal development."

_And here we go again_, Rufus thought. "But you _are_ sending them to school, too. And it is said that a child cannot become truly accomplished unless it learns an instrument." Not that he planned on any children; children did not necessarily turn out the way one wanted them to, and then, love for them clouded judgment. It was much better to adopt a successor at one point, just like a few of the Roman emperors had done. If he managed to save his company, anyway.

Tifa gave a sigh. "How's _Sulfur_ coming along?"

Ah, change of topic. Well, maybe Tifa was better at true socialising than he. As well as he might have been trained at small talk and being found amiable if he had to, it was just not the same as conversing. "Pretty well. I was actually hoping that you'd be a bit more interested in business because if things are over and if we are still alive, I would have been pleased if you could have stayed with us." He knew perfectly well he was only saying this because she had refused already. There was no way he would want to keep her around him for much longer than necessary. After the terrorists - or they - had been exterminated, it was high time that he got a grip on himself again and forgot about her. He hated the situation as it was already and not an entire week had passed, yet. Yes, he loved her, loved every second he got to be with her, but what use was that emotion if it was not replied? It was a waste of resource, then. It was a waste of resources most likely, anyway. So, it was best to get Tifa as far away as possible, never to cross his path again.

"Oh," Tifa seemed to be surprised. "How so? I mean, there must be lots of other people who are better qualified then I am."

He smirked. "Didn't you tell me the day before yesterday that I might have all the manners but that they hardly equalled morality? You've got more of a conscience than any person I know, and in this new world, the moral standards are a bit higher than in the last. Shin-Ra, Inc. would benefit exceedingly from your knowledge in that field." Yes, he did also say that because he knew she would like it. It could not hurt to act a bit nicer around her. Also, he had been thinking quite a bit about her accusations lately, the more Shin-Ra was collapsing. Whatever came after the terrorists, he did not want to have to rebuild his company yet again. That meant he definitely had to make the world believe that this leopard had indeed changed its spots. Which meant he had to learn a little more than just the basic theory about what could be done and what could not. Tifa was one of the maxims of everything that was good. It would be beneficial to rely on her advice.

"You want me to teach you to be good?"

"Why, we both know that neither of us is particularly good." He did have to admit that he sometimes just enjoyed teasing her.

"That depends very much on the definition of `good'." She was all smiles again. She was dangerous when she was all smiles.

He smirked, loving her expression: "Oh, very much so, indeed. And I do grant that you are a lot better than I am according to today's standards."

"Are you good according to yesterday's standards, then?" She was wearing that particularly engaging smile of which he knew precisely that it cautioned him to choose his answer wisely. This was just the kind of conversation he liked.

"I would say whoever has the power makes the rules."

"Did you _think_ yourself good back then?" She was studying him. This time, he did not like the way she looked at him. As if she was only inches from being utterly disgusted. As if she felt sorry for him. As if she was only an inkling away from reaching out for him.

"I never aspired to be good, Tifa..."

"Why not?"

The question left him surprised for a few moments. Then, he shrugged, knew that she would not like the answer: "If you're good, you lose."

"How so?"

"Being good means that you obey rules which others will ignore without a second thought. They'll have the advantage over you and that means, in the end, you will lose."

"We won."

He nodded. "Yes, you did." He still wondered why. "But you also did not obey all the rules."

Tifa frowned. "We obeyed the important ones. We never fought or harmed anyone who didn't attack us first. We never killed unless it was to only way to stay alive. We helped people where we could. People were thankful to us, that's why they helped us. That's what made us win in the end. - That's also why people are still trying to kill you now; Shin-Ra wasn't nice to anyone. You just killed people if they were trouble. - For Gaia's sake, Rufus, you dropped the bloody plate on the slums!"

"I didn't do that and I would have never done that!" He snapped back. He hated that still, his father's actions were mistaken for his. "If you'll remember correctly, you came to Shin-Ra tower _after_ the plate was dropped. And you found my father slain _after_ you came to the tower and _after_ that, _I_ became president!"

"No, you'd sent your Turks down into the slums to find us and kill us." It was a statement and he could not even detect any reproach in it. "But, see, you do get angry. You do mind if someone takes you for more evil than you are."

"I mind it if people take me for stupider than I am."

"That, too," Tifa nodded smiling.

He looked at her, studied her, did not really get what she was trying to say, felt anger and that strange feeling of not having any solid ground under his feet. "What are you implying?"

"What I am implying is that, with a bit effort, you might actually have the making for someone quite decent." She was looking straight at him.

Rufus looked back at her, somewhat intrigued, somewhat confused, most of all insulted. He had never thought that she would actually believe that he could be someone else than the man she had met on the roof of Shin-Ra tower almost five years ago. Then again, most likely, she would not be here if she did not believe that. Knowing how his own mind worked, he asked himself if she was not very much mistaking. "I'm sure you're right."

She grinned. "No need to lie; you've changed a lot already, just like you're constantly _claiming_." Her grin widened and he realised that he had to be looking particularly puzzled. Asked before, he would have said that Tifa was the one who had changed extremely, she who had hated them so much before but was helping them now, who had been so entangled in that black and white world of hers that had turned so greyish now. Had he changed? The thought unnerved him. He could not have changed. It did not feel at all like it. On the other hand - before Meteor, the idea of many people dead would not have bothered him exceedingly. Before Meteor, he would not have hesitated a second to say, yes, he wanted world domination. Before Meteor, he would have laughed at himself for just wanting to keep his Turks safe and Shin-Ra together. Would have told himself that he had to have it all or nothing. Now, he would have simply been satisfied if he managed to get Shin-Ra on an even keel again. If his Turks did not get hurt. If he did not die and if no silver haired freaks destroyed the world. He was well aware that he would not have cared so much about his Turks before Meteor. Everything had been more replaceable then. He would have never fallen in love with Tifa before Meteor. He would have never even thought about jumping from a building to shoot a silver hair freak and maybe, maybe save the world. For what did he need to save the world for if he was dead, anyway? He would have not given a damn about any child on the planet and would have long since tried to get rid of Reeve and take over his company. There were quite a few actions he had committed in the past he thought differently about now, however, he had always attributed that to the fact that he knew now what had become of this schemes.

"So have you," he said, getting up. He had to go back to work. No time for philosophy, he had to get back to work if he wanted to have a company he could still philosophise about.

"And I am not sure if it is to the better." Maybe, she was thinking about Cloud now, still feeling sorry for that. He hated that thought. But it was true that she had changed ever since she had come into contact with them, and that it was this change that had ruined her relationship with Cloud.

"Oh, well, you know... as long as it keeps you alive." He gave her a nod and turned to leave for work. He did not add that he liked the way she had changed.

"I'll think about your suggestion. Maybe I can arrange something half-time. If my bar permits it."

He looked back at her, still sitting on the couch, would have liked to watch her sitting there for hours, would have liked to speak to her more about - well, about how this world could be. What could be done in the future. If they ever survived these terrorists. She had at least seemed interested when he had told her about his plans for Edge. Maybe, he was completely crazy to hope for her advice - and approval. On the other hand, she was smart and she knew what could be done these days. Yes, he was completely crazy.

* * *

_Thank you very much for reading again. Next: (from Rufus' perspective again, sorry for being boring) The second part of the day and a bit of time with the children._

_Please review!_


	56. Silence Before Storm

_Thank you for review so many times again! I'm always so glad to read your comments and I'm also exceedingly glad you like the story so far!_

_**Ahsoka-force-hound**:Since this chapter will be from Rufus' view, I'm not mentioning their view on Rufus explicitely, but I would think that while they don't dislike Rufus, they would perhaps be a bit more comfortable with Cloud._

_Now, the second part of the interlude before we get back to bashing Shin-Ra._

_I hope you'll enjoy._

* * *

Chapter 56: Rufus: Silence Before Storm

_End of April, Evening_

It was darkening. The street lights in Junon were just being switched on, one by one banishing brown darkness from the roads. The illuminated windows were not yet prominent although dark shadows were already chasing the few cars. The ocean was almost pitch black already in those places were it not was painted in the fiery red of the sinking sun, dying bloodily at the horizon. The clouds were black islands against the dark purple of the sky and the burning fire behind it. Venus was already high up in bright white. Rufus was dead tired. He would have liked to go to bed strait after supper already, would have liked not to rise to begin with, had just wanted to finish that last report. Maybe, it was an expression of how tired he was - of how exhausted - that he had fallen asleep at his desk. Maybe, it was also a sign of how much Tifa had disturbed him with her comment on his having changed. He had never bothered much thinking about good and bad. Had never cared. Had found it silly that Tifa had tried to describe the world in such simple terms. Good and evil did not exist. All that existed were norms and opinions.

The glass of the windows was already starting to reflect the inner world of the room and did more so the more the sun was drowned in the black ocean. The doubled reflection mirrored the children, Denzel bent over whatever he was writing, Marlene buzzing along the table. Tifa was sitting opposite to Elena, they were talking about something. He had not paid attention to the topic, was submerged in his own thoughts, staring more or less at their mirror image. Well, maybe more than less. Even if the reflections were badly over-layering, even if it was still too light outside to see much. People usually minded if you stared directly at them, and he enjoyed looking at Tifa. The fall of her hair, loved to hear her voice and her laugh. He rarely made her laugh. Gaia, if only - what? Cloud had not returned? He doubted that Tifa had ever been much in love with him. And he still loved her so much it made him sick ever time he thought of her.

He brushed over his face, staring out at the black town again. Few houses in which the lights were burning, the coal dark of where the harbour had been, deep shadows in the streets. Rain had not yet washed away the rest of the soot. Or maybe, the wind was blowing it over the town. It certainly smelled like that, sometimes.

_There's nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so_. He still thought that to be true. He raised the glass to his lips that he was had brought with him. The liquid had warmed under his touch. Through the murmur of voices, the dishwasher was humming away in the darker part of the room. The floor was painted red by the rest of the sun, red as blood over his suit, drawing deep, deep shadows onto the roofs. He liked to listen to the sound of Tifa's voice.

The question was why having changed was bothering him so much. Really, why would he honestly want to think of humans as creature who were, in their essence, good? That was just shouting to get ripped off. But Tifa had also returned to Cloud because he had not been good enough for her. She had, however, returned to help, because she thought they had changed. And yet, letting people have things for free was just a waste of money. He did not want to protect the world. He did not care about all the people out there in those blood roofed houses. He cared about his Turks. Well, he cared about Tifa, too. And maybe even about the children.

He emptied the water from his glass. It scared him to think that those words of apology he had always assumed to be lies were maybe not that much of a lie as he had thought. He did not want to repay. He wanted Shin-Ra back and strong. But did he still want world domination? His eyes focussed back on the reflection as the clamour around the table was getting too loud and Tifa reprehended Denzel who had most likely teased his sister. Whatever her views on education, the children did listen to her. Still, _Tifa_ would not want anything to do with him if she found out he was secretly still hoping to get back to power. But world domination was messy. World domination got you into trouble like the one he just found himself in. World domination would mean killing a lot of people again. Tseng would not like that. He had once remarked that you could not just kill people to get what you want. Or something much the like. It sounded like something he would voice. Gaia... _he_ would not like that, either. Too many people had died during and since Meteor, anyway.

Yet, the thought that he should have changed scared him. He had known so well who he was. What he wanted. If he had changed - who had he become?

He leaned against the window sill. The dishwasher was pausing in its program, clicking, the cold of the night was radiating off against his face. The horizon had swallowed the sun and the sky above it only remained darkish purple. It had become quiet at the table behind him, Elena had just paused in saying something. The tubing was ticking just a tiny bit and in the distance, almost too faint to hear, a ship was announcing its arrival with a hoot. It was stuffy in the room and he was dead tired. Tired of all the dead people, too. Maybe, he thought, maybe he was getting old.

The conversation restarted again, Tifa's voice catching his attention. Maybe, her comment was only bothering him so much because he would have just laughed at it before Meteor. Well, maybe even still long afterwards. But since before Meteor, he had nearly been shot dead by a monster, been humiliated by his dead father, reduced to sitting in a wheel chair, he had been abducted, kept a prisoner, lived in a hole in the ground, been kept hostage, had been infected with Geostigma, had to face down another world-destroyer face to face, had been truly depended on Turks that were _not_ disposable anymore, had been healed by a magical rain and, to top it all off, had fallen in love. How could he expect not to have changed much after that?

The silent town at his feet gave no answer, the area around the harbour as pitch black as the sea now. No green mako anymore, anyway. He could not remember life without it. No flood lights on Shin-Ra emblems anywhere. No highly equipped soldiers marching the streets. No flashy red flags displaying his name, thank Gaia. No triumph anymore when he thought back at the day when he had walked into that office and found his father shashliked to his desk.

And he was so scared to have changed.

What a strange new world this was.

The glass was almost cold against his hand when he picked it up again.

Who on Gaia was he now?

There was a motion in the window, a shadow closing in from the isle of light. It was not Tifa. He turned.

"Uh... Rufus-san...," Denzel was standing in front of him with a textbook in his hand. "um... could you help me with maths, please?"

"Haven't you done your homework, yet?" Rufus frowned at the child. Had he not told the children to do their exercises directly after school?

Denzel shook his head, looked at least a little guilty and hurried to reply: "I tried, but... I don't understand it and... it's only due the day after tomorrow. ... But if I'm doing it tomorrow afternoon, there's nobody who will have time to `xplain... Will you?"

Rufus studied the child, slightly displeased to be disturbed, slightly pleased to be asked for help. What could be difficult to understand about maths? Especially if you were only - what? Twelve? Thirteen? "Show it to me."

The boy held his textbook at him. "It's all the exercises I've circled. It's about denominators and numerator and... I never know what to put into the denominator..."

Rufus followed into the light, ignored the silence that met him from Elena and Tifa and sat down on the couch. Could Tifa not explain to the boy what maths was about? She certainly had to have enough of an education to know about fractions. ... Or, maybe, this entire education thing was firing back. After all, he _had_ reprehended Marlene and Denzel for barging into conversations.

He looked at the first exercise in the textbook: _Jack cuts a cake into eight equal pieces. How much cake is left if his two friends take two pieces each and Jack eats one? How much if his sister takes another one?_ His eyes were burning with the harsh light and he felt just tired. Denzel was looking at him apprehensively. Why was the boy bothering him with something as trivial as this?

"Now, that's easy," Rufus remarked, remembering simultaneously that he had always _hated_ it if someone had told him something was easy while he did not understand it. Well, he had hated not to understand things in general. Still did. "At least, that's not too difficult to solve. Draw the cake."

Denzel blinked. "I can't draw a cake into my exercise book."

"What's easy?" Marlene asked curiously, looking up from her drawing.

Great. Children were like flies. Once one had your attention, the others came, too. "Why can't you draw into your exercise book?"

Denzel blushed. "The other kids might _see_ it and, besides, Mrs Donavan collects the exercise books and she doesn't like it if they look messy."

Rufus gave a sigh, wondering what was so bad about other children seeing a helpful illustration in an exercise book if one wrote like a chicken, anyway. "Marlene, would you give your brother a piece of paper, please?"

"What do you need it for?" The girl asked, anxiously guarding her precious block like a dragon its treasure.

"_Now_."

Marlene obliged but crawled closer. "Are you doing maths again?" She asked, curiously.

Rufus took the piece of paper from her and handed it to Denzel. "The cake, if you please."

Denzel scowled. "Yeah."

"Cool! Maths is fly!"

"Math sucks!"

"Language, please." This was going to be a very long evening.

"Why are you drawing single pieces into the cake?" Marlene asked. "How many pieces do you need?"

"Eight," Denzel snarled back. He obviously did not like Marlene interfering with his homework.

"Why don't you draw it like this and this? Then, you don't need to draw _each_ piece ...," Marlene had slipped her hand onto the piece of paper and was starting to draw now, too.

"Take your paws off!" Denzel snapped and jerked the piece of paper away.

"That's still _my_ piece of...!" Marlene's voice was getting louder.

Rufus felt his temper rising. "Quiet, now, both of you! Marlene, draw your picture or whatever you were doing. You don't need to show off."

Marlene looked at him with big, hurt eyes, but knew better by now then to talk back and sulked over her painting. Maybe, she had not even tried to show Denzel that she was better than him but meant to honestly help him ... Rufus was never sure how spiteful children already were at her age. He turned back to Denzel who seemed to gloat. "And you, young man, will watch your language _and_ temper. Your sister is at least four years your junior, you should be more mature than fall for the smallest tease."

"I wasn't teasing!" Marlene snivelled. "He was just doing it _wrong_!"

Gaia help him. He felt anger stealing itself over his shoulder, together with a hell of a bad mood. "Stop that silly wailing!" He turned back to Denzel and then added a bit friendlier: "He wasn't doing it wrong precisely. There is more than one way to solve a problem."

Denzel had divided the circle into eight very unequal pieces and slowly, Rufus started seeing the point why his teacher might not want things like _that_ in the exercise books.

"There'll be three pieces left," Denzel said, "and two if the sister eats one, too."

"Yes. Obviously. Now, express that in fractions."

Denzel looked slightly perturbed by that notion. Elena and Tifa were still deeply engaged in their conversation and did not even look.

"What's the denominator?" Rufus asked, feeling slightly vexed and brushed over his eyes. In the harsh light, they were hurting even more. It was warm which made his eyelids feel especially heavy. Was it not almost time to go to bed? No... his watch was not even past half past eight, yet. Gaia. He should have gone directly to bed when he had almost fallen asleep at his desk. Not stayed here, pondering. _Hoping_ for a word with Tifa, staring at her in that bloody window.

"One?" Denzel tried.

Rufus blinked. "Why one?" How on Gaia had the boy arrived at that conclusion?

"Well, there's one cake...?" Denzel mumbled, uncertain. He looked intimidated.

Rufus drew in a deep breath, realised that he had snapped, felt his temper rising with impatience over Denzel's lack of understanding. "Yes. But look at your drawing! The _cake_ isn't one cake anymore. It's eight equal pieces, even if some of them look more equal than the others."

"So, the denominator is eight?" Denzel asked carefully, looking at him.

Rufus gave a relieved nod. "Yes." Simultaneously, it came to him that Denzel was looking more as if he was guessing. "Why?"

Denzel was biting his lip, suddenly looked terribly intimidated. "I don't know..."

Gaia help him. He was just so bloody tired. How could this possibly be complicated? "Why did you just reply then, that it is eight?"

"Because you implied so...?" Denzel was almost whispering now, looking at him with big eyes. "You asked me after the denominator and when I said `one', it was wrong and then, you talked about eight pieces, so, it has to be eight, doesn't it?"

Well, at least the boy was not entirely dense. "Well deduced, Mr Holmes, however, do you think you'll be leading a similar conversation with your teacher during the exams?"

Denzel shook his head. There were tears glittering in his eyes. "I just don't understand it! I mean, we've got this cake and it's just one cake - what does it matter that we cut it into pieces?"

Rufus hated tears, the idea of crying. He hated the sound; it made him edgy. "It matters because the pieces will be basis of your calculation; you want to share the cake. If you cut it into eight pieces its just not one cake anymore but eight pieces. - You don't give cakes away, do you?"

Denzel shook his head. "Not whole cakes, no."

"See, so, you'll have to calculated in the right units."

Denzel looked at him as if he had never heard the word before. "But they want fractions _of the cake_! That's... I'm calculating with the cake then!"

Rufus felt his patiences slipping more and more, felt anger rising and almost snapped again. How could a single person be so dense? Was the entire thing not perfectly obvious? "Listen. You've got one whole. Whatever it is. As soon as this whole is fractioned into pieces, you'll take the number of the pieces as the denominator. It's that easy!"

Denzel looked almost scared and only mumbled: "But in the next exercise, we've got _birds_. Two single birds can never form one, can they?" His voice was breaking.

Rufus forced himself to count to ten in Wutain (not that that was a challange). If he was going to snap at the boy now, things would go rapidly downhill. He was too tired for that. "Two birds could form a swarm." He knew the answer came out too sharp and too impatient, but did not care.

Denzel looked indeed as if he was about to cry. "So... if it's, like, the ten birds here, the denominator is, like, ten?"

"Exactly."

"And then, in the next exercise, when it's the two boxes with the 24 apples... is it 24?"

Rufus nodded, feeling somewhat relieved.

"Okay...?" Denzel made, uncertain.

"Do you think you can try the exercises on your own, now?"

Denzel gave an uncertain nod. "Maybe... can you still stay and look?"

Rufus would have rather liked to go off to bed, his eyes half closing in the warmth, anyway. However, he suspected that Tifa was more or less listening and that she would take it better if he were to agree and stay.

"Don't get angry, please?" Denzel looked at him, carefully, seemed quite intimidated.

Rufus felt a stab of uneasiness rising at those words. He hated it if his temper slipped his control that much. "I'll stay, don't worry." He ruffled the boy's hair.

"Thank you," Denzel mumbled and started chewing at the end of his pen, staring into his text book.

Rufus leaned back against the couch, tiredness heavy in his bones. He hoped he would not fall asleep. That would be most embarrassing. Elena and Tifa were still talking. Marlene was drawing with the tip of tongue in the edge of her mouth.

Denzel had started scribbling and Rufus felt the urge to ruffle the boy's head again when he saw that the first step the kid had made was to write down the denominator for all four exercises. He had it right even for the last one. Rufus somehow liked the boy, even if Denzel would not be a good choice for an heir. He would certainly not inherit the company to someone who could not even do fractions. After all other catastrophes, a president who did not know maths was certainly still the worst thing that could happen to Shin-Ra. How would such a president keep balances? Still, the question was rather hypothetical, anyway. Tifa would be off as soon as the problems here were solved. It was stupid to even _think_ about inheriting anything to her children. Not to mention that there would not be much to inherit left if the terrorists were through with them.

And why could Tifa and Tseng not agree a little better? They always seemed to circle each other, warily. As if Tifa waited for a sign of Tseng reknewing this threat and Tseng - well, Tseng was as usually looking for an oportunity to protect him. Rufus did not even want to be protected from Tifa. He asked himself if it would hurt again so very much when she left or if it would be different now that he was already aware that it would happen. He asked himself what Tseng would do. Why could Tifa not just like him? Why could things not just be simple for once?

"Rufus?"

Tifa's voice startled him up. She was looking straight at him from the other end of the couch, her eyes beautiful in the warm artificial light. It was much darker now and with a jolt, he realised that he must have fallen asleep.

"Pardon?" He said, tried not to look as if he had just woken.

"It's nine. I wanted to get the children to bed now."

"But I'm not finished with maths, yet!" Denzel protested.

"Is it nine indeed already?" Elena asked. _She_ got along with Tifa.

Tifa nodded. "Quite exactly. - Get up, both of you, it's bed time." She seemed however somewhat undecided, looking at him in quite a different way that made him feel strangely uneasy. Warm. It would be a good idea to get away now.

He turned to Denzel, feeling as if he would fall asleep again standing any moment now. "You can finish tomorrow."

"Good night, Mr Rufus!" Marlene mumbled, putting her anxiously guarded paper under her pencil.

"Aren't you going to read to us tonight?" Denzel asked.

"You preferred to draw," Tifa reminded him and Rufus remembered that he had caught bits of such a conversation as he had still been staring out of the window. Marlene was yawning like a black hole, anyway, clinging to Tifa's leg.

"Tomorrow," Rufus said, ruffling the boy's hair. "Off you go, young man. _Good night_."

Denzel looked disappointed but knew better than to talk back. He collected his things and set into motion to leave the room after Tifa who had picked up Marlene, too.

"Good night," the boy said politely, turning in the door. "Thank you for your help!" The door closed behind him, and left Rufus and Elena in the light of the lamps.

Elena looked at him from the other end of the couch, getting up. "I was thinking that, maybe, I should ask Tifa whether she would like to talk to this terrorist Martha. Maybe, she'll be able to learn something more from her?"

Rufus felt protest boiling up inside him, rashly, hotly, as it had used to do when he still had been a teenager and had not yet learned better than to quarrel with his father. Now, he let the emotion sway past. Elena's idea was not bad. Tifa could indeed still learn something. If that terrorist woman trusted her. Tifa, maybe because she hated deceit, made a trustworthy impression. For the good cause, he was almost certain that he could get her to participate. He asked himself why he felt so opposed to it. Was it because he feared Tifa might see the woman's face and what she might think of him if she saw it? But she knew who he was, she knew what he was capable of, she had accepted that, she knew what had happened. Was it because he feared that woman could influence Tifa and turn her against them? Tifa was not that manipulable. By no means. Was it because he feared that the woman might remind her of Cloud again? But Tifa herself had called the terrorists and everybody who believed in their methods and aims insane. So was it - because of what?

He shook his head. "I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not, Shachou?" Elena asked, illuminated by the lights from the table. "She might learn something useful."

Rufus brushed over his tired face, his eyelids were heavy, he felt so exhausted. He thought of her smile. Gaia, even thinking of her made his heart sing. Oh, why on Gaia could he not stop being so silly? Why could he not stop caring? He was too exhausted to care. He so much wanted to sleep. "I think the terrorist told us everything she knows." He was standing in front of the table now, looking down at the drawings. He did not like the way Elena seemed to have a hand for the children. Marlene had shown her two or three of the pictures she had painted, proudly. The girl had never shown him any of her paintings. ...

Elena frowned. "Do you think the terrorist might change her mind?"

Rufus picked Marlene's drawings from the table. He did not even know why it bothered him. They were not even very good, anyway. Well, maybe, they were not bad for a seven year old child, but how was he to know? "Frankly?" He said and flipped through the pictures. "I couldn't care less." He looked down at the blinding mix of colours on the last picture, people in front of what seemed to be some kind of building, holding hands. He asked himself who was on that picture. "It wouldn't, however, be very advantageous if that woman told Tifa something and get her into an inner conflict."

He put the pictures back onto the table, orderly, making sure that no one could see he had moved them.

Elena frowned even deeper, pressed her lips together and shook her head. "I think you have the wrong impression of her. I think she wouldn't mind to tell us whatever she finds out. She's - she's not that terrorist girl anymore. She's on our side now! She trusts us!"

Rufus sneered. That was what made things rather worse for him. But did Tifa indeed trust them not to do evil things anymore? He was not sure. She had certainly grown more tolerant towards them. Then again, he would certainly be the last to know because she surely did not want him prancing around, feeling all superior. As if he would. Elena and her undying belief that people were, in essence, ready to change and believe in the good of everyone. Should she not know better? "Indeed."

"If - I think we should trust her to trust us. After all, she trusts us, so we should trust her in return! It's - why not let her speak to the terrorist? I think nothing could show her better how much we are ready to trust her!"

Rufus felt his lips darting into a sneer. How naive, on Gaia, could you get? To trust other people, indeed! He felt a sharp reply on his lips, remembered how Tseng had slipped in front of Elena, protectively, hated how she was putting her nose into his affairs. Tseng had told him that he could talk to Elena while he himself was in Kalm. Maybe, Tseng had not been too wrong; Elena was one of his four Turks. She was not that teenage girl anymore he had still perceived when he himself had barely left the aftermath of his own puberty behind. She was smart, she was perceptive, she had managed to catch his Head Turk's interest. Her mouth had long since stopped being loose. She was _trustworthy_. And Tseng had told him to rely her. Yet, while he would have trusted her with every possible job on this planet and his life, he did not want her inside his head. Even if he thought he knew he could trust her. But whom could you really trust?

"_Maybe_, I just don't think it would be a good idea to confront her with who she has been before." Was _that_ perhaps it? He certainly had to force it word for word from his lips. It was silly to be worried about Tifa. To care. Tifa could take care of herself. Just a waste of energy. Yet, the thought that something should happen to her was painful.

Elena frowned. "I really don't think she'll betray us." She crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Rufus turned, frowning that she had not caught his point and stressed it almost casually as he looked at her and smirked, knowing perfectly well that it would hurt her: "Now, how did you feel when you found out we were monsters?"

Elena's eyes widened and in text second, anger flashed over her face: "We weren't!" Her index-finger darted into his direction. Why did she even care so much what they had been before Meteor? There was nothing to change about that. And what did it matter, anyway? "Don't _ever_ say that!" She added the last sentence lowly, almost as if she was too afraid to say it. "Don't ever! We were no monsters! Not ever!"

Rufus stopped in the doorway and looked at her, across the room, acutely aware of all the things he could say that would hurt her even more. He asked himself if he should say them. Maybe, Tifa was right and he liked to say the truth if it hurt. Maybe, she was wrong and he had not changed as much as she had commended him for. Maybe, she herself had just changed so much that she thought his changes great.

He gave Elena a sneer before he exited. "Good night, Elena."

They were the Turks, after all.

* * *

_Thank you very much for reading again. Next: Elena meets Veld and another acquaintance. We are getting closer to Show Down._

_Please review._


	57. Wherein Elena meets Veld

_Again, thank you very much for your reviews and kind remarks! _

_**SansaStark: **Very good point!  
_

_**IceQueen69, Kadajclone100:** Thank you for your remarks on the problem of whether the Turks are monsters or not. I think it's a difficult point to deal with, because in the real world, not only they but also every other character from FF7 probably would be. However, in the real world, Luke Skywalker would be a mass-murderer, too (he blew up a death star, must have cost millions of lives). So, somehow, it's a matter of proportion and I'm going to stop writing about this now or I'll probably go insane(r)._

I hope you'll enjoy.

* * *

Chapter 57: Elena: Wherein Elena meets Veld

_Thursday, 1. May, Early Morning_

Elena was on her way to the helicopter. Different from Edge or Junon, the spring in Kalm was beautiful. The air was filled with the smell of freshly blossoming trees and flowers, the green was soft and mild, covering the trees in its soft coats.

Within the ancient city walls, the streets were filled with vendors, buzzing activity, water was glittering in one of the many fountains. The air was clear and pure, the sky in its most brilliant blue. Elena felt her heart fluttering with happiness. She was so much looking forward to see Tseng only in a few hours, when she had arrived back in Junon. The transformation from Shin-Ra into _Sulfur_ was almost completed and while the need for success – for finally earning money instead of always spending it – had never been more urgent, Elena still felt relieved. This was the right way, she was sure of it! If only they managed to keep long enough afloat to stop the terrorists! But they had not committed another attack after they had been apprehended at the train bridge they had tried to blow up. Neither had Shin-Ra's captured radio emitted another word since then. Nor had Reeve's questionings of the terrorists yielded any results with regards to any new plans. Elena did not even dare to hope, but, maybe, maybe, they had caught all of the terrorists. It was not like they were too many people, because so few reached that stadium of New Geostigma infection that turned them into living materia. There was a true chance that there might have caught all the terrorists! Surely, they had. Otherwise, something else would have happened until now.

The air of spring, the bright blue sky as she passed through the gates into the open made it even easier to believe her own words. Maybe, they could finally relax. Elena hoped so. She was dead tired from all the work she had done over the last few weeks – months – could not even remember when she had slept through the last time. She was so much looking forward to spending an entire evening with Tseng, and entire day, doing anything. Everything.

Still, she also knew that because of the attacks, Shin-Ra was almost done for and that each day they were still supporting Shin-Ra drove _Sulfur_ nearer and nearer to bankruptcy.

She tried yet again to ban those thoughts from her head. With the terrorist threat banished, Shin-Ra could recover and then, everything would be back to normal. They would finally be able to relax again. And Tseng's and her search for an escape route out of Junon HQ, all those preparations for a possible evacuation, were going to have been so useless!

She grinned into the broad sunlight, thinking of Tseng's earnest, stern expression. His smell. His voice on the telephone, those solemn words whenever they had been talking about that escape plan. How she would miss not working on that plan anymore.

She ducked a little when she came into the reach of the helicopter's rotors, smiled at the pilot, pushed her small bag on her shoulder into position when she heard someone calling her voice behind her, barely audible through the noises of the engines.

Surprised, she turned around and saw one of the Turks hurrying towards her from the buildings outside the city walls, through the storm of the accelerating rotors. She stopped as the man was waving frantically and waited until he came to a halt directly in front of her.

"Wait! I mean, Elena, Veld asks if you could still spare another moment. It's very urgent!"

She looked at the pilot, frowned, would have liked to say `no', was too much looking forward to see Tseng, and regretted that she knew her duty so well when she nodded.

"I'm coming. Do you know what's it about?"

The man shock his head. If Elena remembered correctly, he was called Doug. It did not fit him at all. "Veld just said I am to bring you to him directly!" The man looked possibly flustered and Elena felt somewhat strange, thinking that it had only been yesterday when she would have run after somebody like that, being almost too flustered to speak upon arrival. Just like that young man... - how old indeed was she turning when she called that boy 'young man' already? She followed him over the deep green lawn back towards the town, a bit surprised. What could be so urgent that Veld had not told her before – that it could not wait until Junon?

However, Doug did not take her to Veld's office in the town but rather on a longer way that puzzled her more so as it went into the direction of the barracks outside the town's walls. The man stood in attention after he had opened the door to a room for her. It was a room that must have been filled with beds during Shin-Ra's time but was now serving as a tiny office with its desk right below the small windows in the thin wall. In front of the windows, lit by the warm sunshine and grey hair slightly moved by the sweet breeze, Veld was standing, old, the spring light not particularly friendly on his scarred face. Tseng's mentor, the one man he looked up to. Elena had never met anyone with as much awe as him – well, at least not in the last few years. She still remembered that she had been struck mute with awe when she had met Rufus the first time. Same as with him, getting to know Veld had been nothing like she had expected. The former boss of the Turks was not as stern as Tseng. Maybe he had been, once, but now, he was kinder and it was sometimes showing that he had not been on active duty these last years. He was doing a good job, but sometimes, Elena had the feeling that he would have preferred to stay at home and play with his baby grandson. Maybe, he had every right to. After all, he was the generation of their parents, that generation that had brought Shin-Ra to supremacy. He did what was required of him and he did it well, but it was obvious that there was no love lost between him and Rufus. Reno and Rude had hinted that it was because he resented that the plan that had saved his life had been Rufus's. Elena suspected that it was also because having become head of Shin-Ra's secret service, he must have been at one point on rather good terms with old President Shinra; his loyalty to Shin-Ra might have been a loyalty to the family which would make Rufus a traitor in his eyes. The worst kind of traitor who had tried to kill his own family for power.

"Who is she?"

Her head was turned by the almost frantic voice to a small man on a chair in the shadows of the room as the door closed behind her and she heard several Turks taking up guard on the other side.

"I'm Elena of the Turks," Elena said, almost surprised. The man was thin, looked harried, now that he had jumped up a lot taller than he had seemed. He, too, had to be older than sixty, his anxious face looked tired, his posture, although making evident that he was afraid, full of arrogance. The fair suit looked as if no other suit would have done for this weather and clearly expensive.

"She is one of Rufus's closest associates. One of _the_ four Turks," Veld explained in his calm way of which Elena sometimes wondered if Tseng had copied it.

The fiery, red-rimmed eyes of the other man glared at Elena and with a shock, Elena recognized that worn face; Manuel Fontainebleau. What on Gaia? She was too astonished for a few moments to do anything but stare at the man. What was he doing here?

"Is that so?" The man narrowed his eyes as he eyed her. "What's Rufus' second name, girl?"

"Uh?" Rufus had a second name?

"Mr. Fontainebleau, even if Rufus had a second name, he would have most likely not told her. She's a Turk, after all."

"Yes, and he keeps Turks like friends," the man hissed, sounding too worn to be disgusted as he got up from the chair and came towards her.

Elena felt uneasy. What was this all about? Why on Gaia was Fontainebleau here and why was he not imprisoned?

Veld was still staring outside through the blinds, his face tired and the expression rendered almost unreadable by the scar. "We of _Sulfur_ don't want to get involved into your conflict. I've already declined Shin-Ra's offers and I'm also declining yours. You can stay here, and we won't let you come to harm, but if you want an agreement, talk to Elena."

The man rubbed his tired eyes and now that he had come closer, Elena could see that his suit was not clean. In fact, it looked like he had travelled over a vast distance in a great hurry. His face showed the silvery hints of a several day's old beard that the faint light in the room had hidden so far.

"Are you really one of Rufus' friends?" He was standing directly in front of her and Elena caught the stagnant smell of sweat and illness. The white in his eyes was almost yellow, his cheeks hollow. He had lost all of his roundedness and his breath was sour.

Elena hesitated. The man sounded tired and his eyes were pleading her. She swallowed. "I'm who Veld says I am. I... uh, you will find me on most of the pictures where Rufus-Shachou is seen with bodyguards."

The man smiled tiredly. "If you knew anything of this world, child, you would know that I would not recognize you. Don't you know that we Nobles don't give anything about scum like you?"

Elena frowned, bit her lip in anger at the man who, despite his run down appearance still was that arrogant.

"Don't get angry, girl, that's the way the world is. No..., that's the way the world was. I am Manuel Fontainebleau, you will have heard of me..."

Elena took a deep breath, angered, puzzled. "I don't care who you are," why was she even polite? "I am wasting valuable minutes here. What do you want of Shin-Ra? What can you possibly want from Rufus?"

The man looked at her, his tired yellow eyes suddenly full of grief. "I want him to save my daughter."

Elena gapped at him, trying to grasp a snide reply that she could fling at the man, anything to tell him how outrages she thought even the idea that he could think that Rufus would save his dilly-dally-dumb daughter. They had tried to _kill_ Rufus, for Gaia's sake! Would have tortured him to death with pleasure! They had almost killed Tseng! Tseng had almost died because of them.

"Calm yourself, girl," the old man said, raising his hand just in the moment as she opened her mouth. Maybe it was that sharp, livelong exercised authority in his soft voice or her training as a Turk that yielded to his gesture, but she closed her mouth again, just to become angry with herself. But before she could say anything, the man had already continued speaking. "Let me explain."

The room was stuffy and warm with the spring's sun and Elena asked herself why she should even listen another moment. Who was she to listen another heartbeat to that criminal? Who regarded her as scum. Who would not have had any qualms to kill Tseng because Tseng was nothing but scum to him, too. She felt anger rising. That man would not even feel sorry if she told him how much that prosthesis still bother Tseng! But Veld would not have had her come if this man did not have something to say. So, she forced every word down her throat, bit onto her tongue, held her breath and counted until her tongue did not want to run away again with her. She was no rookie anymore. She could be exactly as calm and controlled as Tseng. Well, apart form the fact that her face had to be as red as a tomato and in a horrible grimace and that she was running out of air.

"If your superior were a gentleman – if Rufus would see the promises his father made as binding as any good son would – he would act upon his obligations towards my family. However, I am well aware what kind of boy he has turned out to be, so I'll sweeten his obligation a..."

"Obligations? What obligations can Rufus possibly have to your family? Isn't it more that you have obligations to him? That you should..."

Fontainebleau smiled at her as if he could forgive her all the shouting in the world because she was just a dumb, very, very dumb soldier. "My dear, didn't he even _tell_ you before he inflicted that cheap minx upon us? My daughter and he are engaged to be married ever since birth."

Elena, ashamed by her outburst, anyway, felt even more ashamed because the first thought that had crossed her mind upon this revelation had been: I'm _so_ going to tell Reno and Rude about this! No wonder Rufus had been exceedingly vexed when he had received the invitation from the nobility!

"Are there contracts?" she asked as any good employee would have done in her opinion.

Fontainebleau looked almost offended. "No, of course not. What are you thinking, girl! Such agreements are matters of honour. But, as I said, since I don't think your superior will feel obliged to his father's word, I will tell you everything I know about your Terrorists. If you promise to rescue my daughter before, - before it is too late. I will tell you where their headquarter is, I will tell you what they are planning, I will even name every member I know and identify them personally. But you have to rescue my daughter." He smiled engagingly and yet, everything his smile was, was begging. He was afraid. He had put it nicely, but Elena could see that he would go down on his knees and beg, that he would do anything to be granted this request. His face seemed to shudder every time he mentioned is daughter, shudder with the deepest fear.

Elena started to feel sorry for that man who acted so grand as if his time of glory had not passed yet. As if he was not standing in front of her in a stuffy barrack without a house to return to, in a dirty suit and without a cent in his pockets. She felt sorry for a man whose image she had seen so often on glamorous magazines and who was begging her to save the life of his child, a woman she would not have hesitated one heartbeat to kill.

"What do you know about them? How would you know where their headquarters are?" She asked quietly and could not stop herself from letting sympathy slip into her words, although she felt disgusted to the last by what his words suggested that he – they had done.

Fontainebleau walked back to the chair and sat down – no, sank down onto it. Veld was watching from the shadows, the fan on the ceiling tiredly turning the air. Her brain was making calculations.

"I see. Of course you would not just promise. Not before I tell you everything. Well, you shall have it. You shall have it all. It is not like I have another choice." He rubbed over his face and his beard rasped against his hand. "Well, you know of course what we have been convicted of. It turned out we were not killing the white geostigma devils to just clean them." He gave a sigh and Elena was not sure whether it was regret. "I should have known. Ennio was never one to just believe in things. He has even less a conscience than your Rufus, to sell us out to those white spotted Sephiroth spawn! To do business with them! ... But you don't ask question if money's suddenly flowing again, do you? It turned out Ennio's cleaning device extracted their souls. He had a prosperous contract with some business partners on the Northern Continent who paid well for those souls. His business partners were those white spotted devils you refer to as White Geostigma terrorists. - It was they, too, who liberated us before WRO could have us executed. I still can't believe Ennio did business with them. I would have rather been executed by WRO then rescued by them! But," he sighed again, "I should not hide that, either. Isolde hates Rufus very much for what he has done to us. I can't blame her." By the way he was squeezing his own hands, Elena was almost sure that the same was true for the old man. His voice, however, was too flat to tell. "She hates him so much she listened to those white spotted devils. They promised her to give her the power over materia, too, if, well, if she gets them into Shin-Ra HQ in Junon. We've still got a few acquaintances in Junon who are willing to help. - But, the devils have already killed Ennio when they tried to turn him into a living materia. I shouldn't know, but, I heard them talk about it and then, he never returned. Isolde wouldn't believe me, of course." His voice was almost breaking now. "Please. I'm coming to you as my last resort. Help my daughter! I don't want her to die from any experiments! I don't want her to be shot by your guards! I don't want her to be turned into a monster! I don't have any money anymore, but I will tell you everything! I will tell you where to find them! I will tell you where their headquarter is, who they are, everything! But you must stop her! Please! You must save her life! Please!" His strangled sob died away in the stuffy air of the room and Elena could see tears glittering on his rough silvery cheeks. Now that he had spoken his piece, almost all dignity that had filled him before seemed to have fled his body and he did not look like anything else than a weak, malnourished old man who was mortally afraid for his child's life.

Veld was still standing at the window and Elena could feel his eyes upon her. She felt sorry for the man, no matter what he had done. Not matter even that he would have killed Tseng if he had had a chance to. She was under no illusions that, if cards had been dealt differently, he would not be sitting here, he would not have told them a word and he would have welcomed their deaths. Still. He was here to protect perhaps the only thing that was precious to him in this world; the life of his daughter.

She walked towards him. "Tell us everything and I promise we will do everything we can to save your daughter!" She felt like a liar as she spoke those words, because, even if she wanted them to be true, even if she wanted so much to help that desperate man, she was not sure that Tseng or Rufus would agree.

\\

The sun was shining brightly directly into the room and the soft breeze that was coming in through the open windows was filled with the smell of spring and the glittering sea. Seagulls were shooting past the windows on gusts of wind and the ocean lay tranquil behind the working units that had almost entirely cleaned the harbour.

Elena assumed that Tseng and Rufus must have started planning out how to deal with the situation directly after she had called Tseng from Kalm to inform him on Fontainebleau's statement, for right after her return, Elena had been summoned with the others to Rufus's office.

Seaguls wer performing daredevil manoevers in front of the windows, screaming at the top of their beaks, but in the room, everything was silent. After Elena had finished to sum up what Fontainebleau had told her, Rufus had detailed his and Tseng's plan. They would evacuate. Full and entire evacuation of everything that was still important within Shin-Ra. While they had already found the place Fontainebleau had marked as the terrorists' hideout, chances were that the terrorists had changed their hideout, that Fontainebleau was giving them the wrong position or that there was another hideout. Fontainebleau's other information, that the terrorists were planning another attack within the next two weeks, certainly agreed with their own worst fears. And one or two weeks were certainly too little time to make sure they got all the terrorists. So, evacuation was the only decent option they had if they wanted to have at least a chance to save Shin-Ra. Even if Elena had no idea how the evacuation could ever be reverted. Would it not take too much time and cost too much money to shift everything back from _Sulfur_ to Shin-Ra? After all she had learned over the last months, it would. It would be painful and demanding as hell and Elena asked herself if they had not, really, fought enough.

Tseng closed the door behind him as he moved back into the room. He had just been called out and placed some remaining orders. Everybody looked at him as the door swung back into its lock, Reno picking his teeth and Rude rubbing the back of his neck. Rufus looked at Tseng.

"Done?"

Tseng nodded. "They said the servers can't be transported ad hoc. I told them to mirror the data."

"That at least will make it easier to transfer the digital information back here." Rufus got up. "Let's hope you'll stop them in time so there's still something to transfer it back to."

"If we come under attack, WRO will help us with evacuation of the employees," Rude continued. He had been in contact with security and would organise most of the evacuation to Kalm.

"No worry, Shachou, we'll bomb them out of their rabbit hole before it comes down to that!" Reno said, shifted his glasses on his forehead. He seemed to be looking forward to fly an operation again; he was beaming from one ear to the other.

If Reno lead the air support, the terrorist would not stand much of a chance, Elena thought. She took a deep breath, was standing, too agitated to sit, hoped for so much when she was searching for Rufus' eyes and knew that now that Fontainebleau had given them all the information, he was likely to get nothing in return. As she felt he had known. She still felt his grasp around her hand when she had turned to leave the room, steel, almost, how he had begged and begged her to feel bound by honour and save his daughter. Beg for Rufus' mercy, his obligation to his family.

"We should get the children out, though." Rufus remarked thoughtfully and interrupted Elena before she even started speaking. "I don't expect anything to happen, after all, we should be able to storm that terrorist's head quarters by tomorrow or at latest the day after tomorrow...," he looked at Tseng who made an uneasy movement with his head. An operation of that scale usually needed weeks if not months of preparation. Acting within a day would be insanity. But it was, certainly, their only chance to avoid the terrorists' attack. "Still, Denzel had New Geostigma, too."

"I would suggest to bring them to _Sulfur_'s headquarter in Kalm, too," Tseng offered.

Rude nodded. "I'll take them tomorrow afternoon."

"Will Tifa agree?" Reno asked.

"I'd think it'll be her condition on which she's willing to stay," Rufus shrugged, his shrug perhaps not as off-handed as it should have been.

"What about Isolde Fontainebleau?" Elena almost had not dared to ask. But she wanted to have that question solved. Even if Rufus would just shrug and tell her he could not care less. Which she expected.

Rufus shrugged. "I couldn't care less." He hesitated for a moment. "I don't like to rescue people just to have them executed afterwards. It's such a waste of resources."

"Right," Reno agreed, leaning against a wall.

"Besides, wouldn't I be stupid to? They tried to kill me, they tried to kill us, they tried to kill Denzel, they are trying to kill me again – I am already very, very stupid that I haven't ordered Veld to put a bullet through Fontainebleau's head."

"What about your father's promise? Isn't - I mean, wouldn't it be bad if it became known that you've been engaged to her and had her executed?" Elena had voiced her doubt in such a way that Rufus would listen to it. But in her mind, it was less that she feared someone would find out than that she felt that promise of marriage still meant _something_. Even if it had been delivered by a criminal father more than a quarter of a century ago to a not less criminal family.

Rufus frowned. "Engaged? Oh. _That_." He gave a short laugh an Elena asked herself what was laughable about such a promise. "Even my father was well aware that promising my hand upon birth to some baby girl is utter nonsense; he made that promise whenever it furthered his business interests. I don't even have enough fingers for rings to keep all those promises! - But I see your point; rescue her if convenient and if it doesn't cost us lives. We'll just hand them over to WRO, let them deal with it. Whatever."

Tseng was frowning slightly and Elena could not tell whether he was happy with the solution. Most likely, Elena thought, he was not. He did not like people who posed a threat for their lives. And maybe, he was right. They had tried to murder Tseng and Rufus and Tifa, had murdered loads of other people and would maybe try again. But who was anyone from Shin-Ra to pass judgment?

Tseng got up. "If there is nothing of importance anymore, let us postpone conversation to supper. I'll talk to Tifa about the evacuation."

Rufus gave a short nod and Elena remembered that Tifa had looked slightly displeased when they had left to meet with Rufus in his office. She had looked as if she felt left out. Elena had tried hard to talk to Tifa over the last week and find out what she was thinking because Tseng seemed to think that Tifa was just playing games with Rufus.

Elena herself was not sure. One moment it seemed as if Tifa liked Rufus more than she even admitted to herself, the next it looked as if she could not care less. But, Elena thought, Tifa would certainly help them against the terrorists, so much at least had been evident from their conversations.

"Return after supper, Tseng. I would like to be informed about the proceedings of the evacuation. And about Surna, of course." The attack on the terrorist's hideout would be coordinated from Surna.

"Of course, Shachou," Tseng nodded. Rude got up from the couch, Reno gave them a nod upon leaving; Elena assumed she would not see both of them for supper. Rude was most likely going to go back to Kalm to organise the evacuation while Reno would soon leave for Surna. At least as far as Tseng and Rufus had planned it out so far.

"I don't like it," Tseng said as soon as the doors had closed behind them and they were heading for Tseng's office.

Elena blinked. "That we are rescuing Isolde? To be honest, Tseng, I find Rufus's order quite reasonable. I mean, of course, we owe Fontainebleau for those information and... it's really the least we can do. I mean..."

Tseng shook his head. "I'm not talking about Fontainebleau. I don't think Rufus could or should have decided much differently. I'm talking about Tifa."

"Tifa?" Elena was surprised. "I think it's a good idea if she's helping. She's very useful. I mean, she did a good job here while I was at Kalm!"

Again, Tseng shook his head. "The way she's treating Rufus. She's being way too nice to him again!"

"Maybe, she really likes him? I think she always _liked_ - I mean, `always' being, like, this winter. So, I think she always liked him at least a bit and..."

Tseng smiled a little, took both her hands. "If she really did, would she have left for Cloud like that?"

Elena shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe, she felt guilty about liking him when Cloud returned? I mean, you know, after all she's been with him for four years plus, even if Cloud was missing over the last half year. I don't know much about feelings, Tseng. I just – I mean, it's not our business, really, is it?"

"I don't want him to get hurt again." A frown was knitting the dark tilak again and Elena felt butterfly bubbling in her stomach at that statement. It was that kind of protectiveness she loved so much about Tseng. Protective even if the company was going to hell, if they were threatened with a terrorist invasion every day now, Tseng still managed to care about minor – well, in comparison – minor issues like that.

"You're a good friend," she said, pushed herself up on her toes, put her arms around his neck and kissed him. "And I love you." She had no idea why she was saying it just now, called herself exceedingly stupid for letting her mouth run away with her again because, well, maybe, Tseng would freak out if she said so now.

But Tseng just pulled her closer and kissed her again. "I love you, too."

* * *

_The next chapter will deal with the beginning of the next day. A more or less peaceful breakfast on the day on which the terrorist's hideout shall be stormed._

_Please review._


	58. Rex sedet in verdice, caveat ruinam

_Thank you very much again for your very encouraging reviews!_

_**Kadajclone100: **I'm glad you got to like Elena! She's a tad bit difficult because she's so naïve when things start out, but she has huge potential!_

_I hope you will enjoy. The chapter is a little longer, but I hope that will make up for it if I'm not able to post till the week after next (going on holidays)._

* * *

Chapter 58: Tseng: Rex sedet in verdice, caveat ruinam

_2. May, Wednesday, Morning_

Tseng was thinking about Elena, about those feelings inside him that had risen from tender to that warm maelstrom that was engulfing him now, making him feel so light and so entirely happy despite the fact that the world around him was burning. That Shin-Ra was lost and that Rufus was breaking between that and Tifa who just could not stay away, could not leave them in peace, could not leave Rufus in peace. Tseng did not know what to do about her same as he did not know how to stop Shin-Ra's downfall. He felt guilty to feel so very happy despite everything. In all the years with the Turks, he had rarely been so overjoyed or so thankful as he felt now whenever he thought of Elena. Thinking of those tiny, three words she had spoken almost as an afterthought. How she had blushed, the shock on her face when she had realized what she had said, how she had seemed mortally afraid that he would – what? Not love her? As is there was any way he could not, now. As if those three words had not turned him back into a moonstruck teenager whose emotions were all over the place.

He pushed the knot of the tie tight against his collar as if that could keep that bubbling happiness down inside him.

Maybe, that was Elena's special talent. Not only to look so exceptionally beautiful during catastrophes, but also to make light of them for him. It was not like it did not matter to him that Shin-Ra was crashing down around them, whatever they did. It barely let him sleep, especial now that it was a choice between Scylla and Charydbis with the terrorists. On the one hand, they could storm the hideout unscouted and lose many men in the operation. On the other hand, they could do the necessary scouting and risk the attack on Shin-Ra. The latter, Tseng had told himself over and over again, would cost more lives, and so he had given orders to take the first. In fact, he was not sure for WRO would help them evacuate. He was, however, sure that the latter choice _would_ have endanger Rufus's life and maybe Elena's to a degree that he was not prepared to risk. He had told himself after Meteor - had agreed with Rufus - that they would try never to do anything evil again. Now, looking at his own mirror image, he knew that he should have risked Rufus's and Elena's lives instead of so many of his men's. Two lives could never outweigh so many others. Should not. But he was not prepared to sacrifice those two.

Yet, even if those thoughts were still costing him sleep – even if he could feel his stomach cramp up in pain every time he thought about the mere possibility that they could get hurt, only the thought of Elena and that she did love him seemed to make light of that. Him. Who was about ten years her senior, who barely said anything. Who certainly had not done anything to earn her love. Or any love at all.

It had not really surprise him that Fontainebleau was betraying the very ones who had saved his life. Parents were capable of everything if they thought this would save their children. He had seen Veld betray Shin-Ra to save his daughter. He had seen old President Shin-Ra welcoming Rufus back with open arms after Rufus had tried to have him killed; he was not surprised by Fontainebleau. He was not even very surprised that Tifa was showing Rufus attention again, he had feared she would the moment she had said she would stay.

He was a little surprised the Rufus had given the order for evacuation so calmly, but suspected that it was only because Rufus thought that there was still a way to save Shin-Ra.

But he had been utterly surprised when Elena had proclaimed out of the blue that she loved him and how much it mattered to him. Like a lovesick teenager. It was not like him at all.

He tied the laces of his shoes, straightened up again and put the jacket on, correcting its fit in the mirror. Not a crease, not an emotion on his face. The morning sun was reflecting back from the silver and blinding him, dust lying on the glass and dancing in the light. Elena loved him. And the world looked still the same as it had yesterday. The area around the harbour was still mainly burned, the sun was still red at the horizon, the sky still blue and Shin-Ra still stumbling. No, whom was he kidding? Shin-Ra was done for, taking its last breaths as they were evacuating the last papers into the helicopters. As much as Rufus wished otherwise, that order had been the last nail to Shin-Ra's coffin. It would be much too expensive to revert it. Rufus was too much of a businessman to do otherwise. There was too little money left to do otherwise. Tseng did not know everything about the current financial situation, but there had been no payments to WRO this month. Shin-Ra's capital had been huge before Meteor. It had crumbled to less than 10 \% after Meteor, but it still had been immense. And only half a week ago, Rufus had informed him that there was not enough money left to pay WRO anything. – That meant that there was almost no money left to keep Shin-Ra running. Tseng had known that something like that had been afoot when they had been forced to dismiss so many employees last month. He had only not thought that it was that bad.

Tseng closed the door to his flat behind him and turned towards the dining room, pushing the doors open. Business had not left him and Elena more than those five minutes yesterday afternoon. He had been supervising the evacuation until late at night, had discussed plans for the operation against the terrorists with Reno, Elena, Rufus and Veld, and had dissuaded Rufus from looking actively for an escape route since that was Turk business... He hoped so much that he was just being overly careful with his preparations for evacuation. That by today evening, no terrorist was left who could harm them. He had no idea if his plans for defense were even good enough.

For how did one defend any building against veritable magicians?

Rufus was already carrying a pot of tea into the room when Tseng entered.

"Good Morning," Tseng said calmly into the warm and peaceful light.

"Good Morning." Rufus placed the pot on the table, more or less gently setting down the plate with the mug and a knife he had carried with the other hand. "Beautiful day outside, isn't it?"

Tseng nodded, his thoughts anywhere but with the weather. Well, with Elena to be exact. "Reno gave me a short call late yesterday evening. He said the aerial view looked very promising. As soon as last questions are solved, the raid can start." He thought they should have been solved by now. He followed Rufus to the common room thinking about all the other things they had talked about and how he had wished that Elena was here and not in Surna. But he needed Elena in Surna. She was realising their plan that would, in case something went very wrong with storming the terrorist's hideout, secure their escape from the headquarter. Tseng was not taking any chances this time. He had thought himself well prepared when they had gone to Fontainebleau Mansion months ago. But he was not going to make the same mistake again. This time, he had a plan B in case something went wrong. He had a plan C in case plan B went wrong. And he had Elena and her team of Turks in case plan C failed, too. As long as plan D was not needed, Elena would just sit in the operation center and inform him on the progress. Nobody of them would get hurt this time. Not Rufus, not Elena, not anybody. He had made triple sure of that.

"Will we be using _Sulfur_'s people only?" Rufus was referring to the attack on the terrorist's hideout.

Tseng nodded. "Our own forces might be infiltrated and we can hand-pick our units at _Sulfur_."

Rufus nodded, knowing of course perfectly well that Shin-Ra just did not have enough people anymore to perform a raid. Tseng took out a mug, a bowl and a spoon for himself and put all three items onto the tray they used to transport things between dining room and common-room.

Rufus closed the fridge, staring at the white door for a heartbeat. "I don't like operations without excessive prior scouting. It feels so... extemporaneous."

Tseng gave a sigh placing a few other items on the tray. "I don't like it either, but can we do? We don't have the time for scouting. I'm not sure if they've noticed already that Fontainebleau is missing and I don't want to run any risks. We'll loose fewer lives without scouting than if they attack us here."

Rufus nodded, hesitated for a heartbeat before he started; "I am not doubting Elena's abilities, Tseng, I know she did an excellent job in evacuating us from Fontainebleau Mansion and that she's an excellent Turk. But she has not even witnessed an operation of that scale, yet. She lacks experience. Is it so wise to make her Veld's right hand in this operation?"

Tseng did not like to have his own arguments - however old they were - thrown back at him, especially because Rufus was right. He had hoped Rufus would overlook that tiny mistake in his plan so he would not have to reveal Elena's real purpose. Now, he gave a sigh: "Elena is mostly there to keep an eye on the entire situation. She'll come and get us out of here if everything goes wrong."

Rufus smirked. "You _are_ making double sure, aren't you?"

Tseng shrugged, had expected more scorn and a sharp allusion to the helicopter deck that was only a few meters off and whether he expected someone to blow it away from under them. But maybe, Rufus was too tired for that. "I'm trying to." He looked at Rufus. "This time, I won't let any of you get hurt, Rufus."

"Do you think they'll be that considerate - not to hurt any of us?"

Tseng took a deep breath. Rufus was standing with his back to him, filling tea into his mug. "I think, to be frank, I don't think we can save Shin-Ra. Whatever outcome."

Tseng saw the teapot slightly shaking and the tension that went through Rufus's back and prepared to hear at least the teapot slammed into the table. Instead, Rufus set it down quietly after yet another moment and leaned himself with both hands onto the table, still standing with his back to him.

"Hn." He sounded almost too tired to say more, too exhausted and too desperately angry. "I hope you're wrong. If we defeat them today, I think we can still rebuild Shin-Ra."

Tseng put the butter onto the table, did not know what to answer, was not that optimistic. Rufus had sounded as if he had been forcing himself to pronounce it that quietly, as if he had force anger down his throat and Tseng was thankful for it. He did not want to argue with Rufus and knew he probably would have had if Rufus had snapped at him again. Anger seemed all around them these days, maybe because it was so much easier to be angry if you were close to loosing hope. Tseng thought about all the nights he had spent almost sleeplessly in the last few weeks, how many times he had yearned for Elena to keep him company and quiet again, how he had pounded punching bags almost into shreds with frustration and in hope to be tired enough to sleep afterwards. How much his shoulder still hurt from that and did not get any better. How little it mattered after yesterday, after just knowing that he was not alone and that Elena, wherever she was, loved him, too.

Rufus was looking at him. "I'm not going to give up, Tseng."

Tseng stepped forth and gentle put his hand on Rufus' shoulder, knowing fully well that Rufus did not appreciate being touched. "I still don't think _Sulfur_ is giving up," he said, giving a light squeeze.

"Yes. ... whatever. It'll all turn out well, I suppose."

Tseng doubt that. Exceedingly.

Into the heavy silence that filled the room, the door was opened and for a moment, Tseng looked up in anticipation of Elena, but Elena was in Surna, of course. Instead, Marlene stopped in the doorway.

"Good morning!" she piped before she advance further, dressed smartly into a colourful combination and followed directly by her brother who was trying hard to act exactly like he thought Turks were acting and scowled in teenage coolness. Tifa was the last to enter and she closed the door behind them. Tseng could see Rufus squaring his shoulders, mask perfectly in place again while he was looking for Tifa, looking a lot more cheerful than before. Tseng felt sorry for him.

"Good morning," Tifa said, too.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" Rufus asked the children when they returned and sat down for breakfast, Marlene a professional at mounting cushions without stirring them by now.

"Yes," Denzel made. He was not a morning person and silently dug into his meal.

"Yes!" Marlene piped back who was – much to the vexation of her brother – a morning person. "I dreamt of dragons! Huge dragons! And I dreamt I was a dragon keeper and had my own dragon and uh – there was a lot of fire!"

"One would think so, with dragons," Rufus smirked tiredly and his smirk looked forced, while Tseng sipped at his tea, thankful for his reputation as silent Turk that let him survive breakfast without saying a word at most times.

"Do all dragons spit fire?" Marlene continued asking, eyes fixed on Rufus.

"I've never met a dragon, you will have to ask your mother about that."

"Do they, Tifa-a?"

Denzel grumbled something into his milk.

"Those that I met at least did."

Marlene seemed to be satisfied with that. "If _I_ ruled the world, I would have and army of dragons!"

"Ruling the world is stupid," Denzel murmured ill-humouredly.

"You are stupid!"

"Behave yourselves, the two of you."

Marlene looked was if she was sulking. Maybe, she thought that she had not started the nascent argument.

"Reeve called me a few minutes ago," Tifa said after a few minutes of silence.

Rufus leaned back in his chair, mug in both hands. "Did he now?"

"Yes. He was very agitated. He said there was something with the vial Cloud brought and its interaction with children and that I should bring Denzel directly for inspection. He sounded as if it was very urgent." Tifa looked worried.

Denzel put his spoon aside, slightly paled, suddenly no cool teenager anymore but just a scared kid.

"Hm, that would make a good opportunity to get the children out. I'll have them flown to Edge."

Tifa nodded. "That would be kind; I told Reeve that I'd drop the children off. ... He insisted that it was important that I should come, too."

Tseng frowned. He mistrusted Reeve far enough to think that he had had second thoughts when he had called Tifa. Studying Rufus from the side, that had been Rufus' first impression, too.

Rufus returned the empty mug on the table, giving Tifa a long look. "_Do_ you want to leave?"

Tifa made an uncertain movement. "I honestly don't want to leave until I'm sure you're not in danger anymore. But..." Her eyes trailled to Denzel. "I - it would be very kind if you could bring the children to Edge. Reeve sounded very worried."

Rufus nodded slowly. "Of course. Rude is due for a flight in a few minutes. I'll tell him to stop at WRO headquarters. If you're more comfortable with it, you're of course welcome to come along." He might have looked as if he meant what he said but Tseng noted a little edge in his voice.

Tifa shook her head. "Reeve knows almost more about Denzel's condition than I do; he likes the children. Beside - to be honest, I'd much rather stay until your raid is over and you're sure you've got all the terrorists."

"Oh," Rufus made. He looked genuinely pleased, smiling perhaps for the first time today. "Well, of course. I'd be glad if you could stay." Then, his face went somewhat more severe as if the thought had only just crossed his mind. "Or are you expecting that we will, perhaps, receive a call from Reeve today, too?"

Tifa frowned. "How do you mean?" She looked as if she knew what Rufus meant but clearly did not like it.

Rufus turned the mug on the table, the noise somewhat unpleasant. "Now, what if Reeve learned something from the terrorists he has imprisoned. I'm sure not all of them are that resistant to interrogations."

Tifa shook her head, looking somewhat offended. "Reeve would tell me if he found something out about an attack on you."

"Maybe, he wants to protect you?" Rufus was looking at her.

Tifa laughed a little over her mug, eyes sparkling in the bright sunlight that fell in through the windows. "Reeve? Protect _me_? He knows that I'm well capable of protecting myself! Besides, he would ask me directly to leave."

"Now, you'd say `no', that might make him a little desperate if he thinks he has to protect you. Or, maybe he just doesn't want you to protect us."

Tifa seemed about to sigh. "Rufus, honestly. Reeve wouldn't trick me into anything and he certainly wouldn't trick me from protecting you. He's... he's an honourable man, he doesn't trick people. I mean, even if he's not too fond of Shin-Ra, he needs you to keep the trade balanced and, I guess, also as an opposition to _Sulfur_. If I'm willing, he wouldn't object to have me here. He knows what I'm capable of."

"Shin-Ra doesn't outbalance anything anymore, Tifa, we're just an obstacle."

Tifa blinked, looked suddenly sympathetic, much too sympathetic in Tseng's opinion. He cleared his throat, snapping his mobile close. "Rude will be here in five minutes."

Rufus gave a short nod and turned to the children: "You might want to pack some things."

Tseng asked himself how Rufus imagined that two children might be capable of packing in five minutes everything necessary for a few days if he himself got vexed every time they went anywhere because he had forgotten something.

"We already packed yesterday," Tifa replied calmly, lifting Marlene from her chair.

"Then, get your things." Rufus nodded especially at Denzel who was still firmly seated on his chair.

"I don't want no further examinations!" Denzel protested.

"I don't think you'll get a say in this, young man." Tifa gave Denzel a firm look although she had to feel sorry for him. "Do you want to send me away to safety, then?" She had turned back to Rufus, her movement almost playful and with an almost engaging smile. But whatever her expression was, there was quite an edge to her tone.

"Now, first at all, I don't think you'll let yourself just be sent away if you think you have business here. Secondly, I would be very stupid to try and sent you if you wanted to stay and help."

Tseng, putting away his mobile, did not like the way Tifa was looking at Rufus or the smile she was smiling just now. But he was careful not to object; Tifa being here was very much part of his plans for everyone's safety.

"Well, of course I'll stay, I said that already!"

Rufus smiled, blinking into the light as Tifa moved around the table to Denzel. "Thank you for that."

"Of course, I promised, didn't I? - Come on," Tifa nodded at Denzel. "Brush your teeth and get your bags and be back here in five minutes. Don't make Rude wait; he's very busy."

Denzel slipped uneasily from his chair. "Can't I stay here and help? I can be very helpful! I know you think you might be attacked, but I can be really, really useful! I know how to fight!" He looked hopefully at Rufus.

Rufus gave him a long, condescending look. "You don't weigh more than 30 kg. Your hands are too small to hold a gun. If you try to fire even a pistol, you'll hurt yourself more than anyone else. You don't have any training; you'll be no use, you'll be a nuisance. Do as you're told and get your things."

Denzel looked stunned, angry, hurt, tears shimmering in his eyes. He turned to the door, Marlene took his arm and pulled her after him out of the door, telling him to make haste.

Tseng let out a breath and took another sip of tea when the door closed behind them. Tifa was looking after the children, maybe wondering if it was right to send Denzel for further examinations. Tseng would have in her stead. Well, in her stead, he would have worried about a good many other things. Yet, he would have still felt bound by honour to stay. That was the trouble with Tifa; he really liked her. He only disliked that she might be hurting Rufus again. And, as it seemed, even without intent.

"I could have Rude take them to Kalm, too," Rufus said after a moment, seemingly misinterpreting her expression. "If you feel uncomfortable with palming them off on Reeve."

Tifa looked uncertain. "If there's something wrong, I would really like them to go to Edge today." She still looked uneasy as if Rufus had had a good point.

"I'll tell Rude to wait for them until the examinations are over; with the raid today, it hardly matters if we're evacuating or not, so Rude won't be much missed."

"Won't Rude mind?" Tifa looked still uneasy.

"I doubt it. He's got a few friends in Edge, too," Rufus shrugged and Tseng almost smiled. Rude would like to do some spying again and they, certainly, could do with the information. Maybe, WRO had indeed obtained some useful information from their imprisoned terrorists.

Tifa seemed rather doubtful. "Well, if Rude has some business in Edge himself and if he doesn't mind, that would be very nice of you."

Rufus made a tired gesture.

Tseng was about to add that it would really be not much of a problem when he felt his mobile giving a buzz and automatically took it out, reading the message with a smile. "I don't think we'll have to worry much about the children; we've begun."

He was met with silence, Rufus looking suddenly tense and Tifa was somewhat frowning, too. Tseng put his mobile away and realized simultaneously that his hand was shaking slightly. Already, with that one message, he was burning to know what was going on, burning to hear the radio transmittance and cursed himself that he had left the job to Elena and Veld. It had been a prudent decision, he was needed here, but... until the action was other, he would not be able to rest for one moment. Already, he was anxious to get away, to hear first reports. He was anxious for Elena, knew that she would do well, was anxious because he would not be there and give orders if something happened, anxious because he did not know what was happening already, wanted to get up and run for the Turk's Headquarters and listen to the radios, knew he could not because he would feel tempted to interfere.

His eyes hastened to Rufus to see if Rufus would take this as a chance and order to stop evacuating the documents entirely now. But however much Rufus was clinging to Shin-Ra, he was not fool enough to believe that just because they had started storming a hideout, the threat was banned, whatever he had said to Tifa.

"It'll be alright; Rude really won't mind," Rufus assured Tifa. Tseng was certainly sure that Rude would not have minded, anyway. Turks were used to being ordered to do the strangest things, especially those who had already been with Shin-Ra before Meteor. And Rude liked the children.

"I hope so. I don't want to interf..." Tifa stopped short in her sentence when her mobile started ringing, too, which broke her connection of looking at Rufus. Tseng did not like the way she had tried not to inconvenience them, as if she really cared. She seemed to really care but she had, too, before the riot. Tseng knew that she and Rufus had talked quite often over the last few days – more from the tone in Rufus' voice than from what he had actually mentioned. It was indeed time that they banned the terrorist threat and got rid of Tifa.

Now, Tifa got out her phone, eyes widening in surprise when she seemed to see who was calling.

Tseng darted a look at Rufus who was watching with a calm expression as if he could not care less who was answering on the other side.

"Excuse me, please," Tifa got up and went towards the door. Tseng heard her answering the call as the door closed behind her. She did not, at least, sound pleased. He looked at Rufus and Rufus looked back, eyebrows raised ever so slightly.

On the other side of the door, the children were shouting.

"Reeve?" Tseng guessed.

Rufus lifted his shoulders carefully. "Perhaps."

Tseng gave a sight and got up. "At least, Cloud doesn't call." He had not liked the expression on Tifa's face and now, he regretted saying this. He had meant to reassure Rufus but Rufus looked everything but reassured. Maybe, he had every right in the world to look perturbed; Tseng certainly did not like Reeve's first call. In his opinion, it was fishy. As if Reeve wanted to lure Tifa from their company. Well, he was welcome to, but only after they had stopped the terrorists.

"No," Rufus said, getting up to. "He doesn't."

Rude's baritone mixed into the children's voices. Tseng moved towards the door to tell Rude about his new mission. When he returned, Rufus had started putting the dishes together. The blazing sun was falling in through the windows, the hilly landscape lying idly in the billowing heat. It did not look as if they had to fear anything. Nothing out of place. There had been no reports about any suspicious movements, either.

"Rude is pleased," Tseng said.

Rufus nodded. When he looked at him, the wry expression on his face increased. "I don't think Cloud would have phoned for anything that has come to pass already. And most of all not straight after Reeve called."

Tseng started helping, uneasy with the suggestion. "Why should the terrorists attack today of all days?"

Rufus looked at him accross the table. "Because they have their spies, too? Because Fontainebleau was watched? Because he was a decoy? Because I frankly don't believe that whatever Reeve's people have found on New Geostigma has to be dealt with today and immediately?"

Tseng nodded. What else was there to say? Rufus had a frighteningly good point.

The door opened again and admitted Tifa back to the room who stopped almost in the doorway. She was holding her mobile as if it was a hot stone.

"Cloud called," she announced and seemed puzzled by that fact – and disturbed. Her announcement, however, was met with silence. "I'll – well, he demands to talk to me." She hesitated a moment and Tseng saw that she was looking at Rufus. "I'll go."

"Try to learn something useful," Rufus said and Tseng knew that he cared a lot more than it seemed.

Tifa frowned, turned as if the order was another of Rufus's comments that was not worth her reply, but stopped in the doorway, looking at them again. No. Looking at Rufus. "I'll be back."

The door closed behind her.

Rufus looked at Tseng across the room, raising an eyebrow. "This is it, then?"

Tseng gave a nod. "This is it." He asked himself why Reeve had not yet called them if they were right an attack was immediate. He feared Reeve had enough reasons to want them gone. He looked at the dishes on the table and asked, although he knew the reply already: "Evacuate entirely?"

Rufus nodded. "I'll call Reeve." He turned from the table where the dishes were packed on the tray, together with the last few things that spoiled easily. The sun was playing over them, warm already. Rufus looked pale in the light, pushed his shoulders back. Tseng felt the same heavy weight on his, the same heavy fear in the stomach.

"I'll meet you on the helicopter deck."

Tseng did not even bother to nod, his hand already wrapped around his phone. He was – too eager – to call in Surna again to see what was going on. Too eager to hear Elena, too eager to hear how things were going. If an attack was going to happen, they would find the headquarter empty. But it was still too early to know; they certainly had only started moving in, yet. And he hoped he would not need to call Elena to invoke their own evacuation plan.

Even if Reeve had not warned them, he would help them to get the people into safety and buy enough time to get themselves out, too. And Shin-Ra would fulfill a last use; standing long enough to capture or kill all of the terrorists. Then, not even Rufus would find enough leftovers to rebuild it from. Maybe, the world would be better off without it. They, at least, would be. _Sulfur_'s name was not that polluted.

The door closed behind Rufus.

Tseng finished his call to activate the highest security level, then picked up the tray and carried it to the kitchen, putting everything that could spoil into the fridge. They could still clean the rest away if it turned out that they were just paranoid. If Cloud had called because he had seen the wickedness of his ways and Reeve because there really was some new treatment. If their defenses held. Putting the things away made Tseng think of Elena again. She seemed to be eating constantly these days. He could not have helped but notice. She would certainly – was already – putting on weight which he liked much better than all the sharp bones that had started to appear in Rufus' face. Maybe, it was his upbringing, but in his opinion, it was better to be on the somewhat rounder side of life.

As he turned to leave, his telephone gave another buzz in his pocket. He picked up almost simultaneously, listened, felt himself paling with anger, called Rufus in the same movement as ending the call.

Rufus answered after the second, to preoccupied to bother with manners: "What is it?"

Tseng had to control himself to hold the mobile gently in his left hand with which he almost crushed it in his anger. The sun was so warm on his skin, the hills in the hazy distance looked so harmless. "Reeve's pulling his people off."

For a heartbeat, the other end of the phone was quiet and Tseng could almost see how Rufus was paling, lips thin and almost the same colour as his skin. "I'll talk to him," Rufus replied quietly.

"I don't think that'll help anything."

He heard Rufus walking onwards, the soft and tired sneer. "With all his ideals, shouldn't he want to help evacuate everyone safely?"

Tseng shrugged helplessly. _This_, certainly, he had not expected of Reeve. He had always believed that Reeve would do anything to save people. Even if it cost lives of his own people. He hoped that WRO would at least take the fugitives."Should. Maybe."

Rufus gave a sigh, Tseng heard other voices, how Rufus opened a door. What were they going to do now? "I so dislike hypocrites. - How many people will we have to deal with, what do you think?"

Tseng starred at the deep blue sky, the scorched hills. "Veld says they estimate that there are at least thirty terrorists, not all of them living materia. But you'd need an entire army to get into here." Only, who knew how Isolde had helped them. "If they aren't helped."

"Well, we know they'll have that help. We could redirect our people from Surna. They might just be in time if I ordered them now."

Tseng shook his head, knowing perfectly well that it would cost lives. "I don't think that'll be a good idea. By now, the operations is well under way. Let's sent them here once they are finished. Let Shin-Ra go, Rufus. And please hurry. We should leave as quickly as possible."

"Of course."

"We will be fine."

"Right. So long." The phone clicked on Tseng.

As he flipped the mobile open to order complete evacuation, Tseng hoped very much that Rufus would get Reeve to help them with the evacuation. That the evacuation would run smoothly. That they would succeed in stopping the terrorists before they could cause any harm here. That he was wrong when he thought that their action in Surna was completely pointless now apart from erasing a retreat. Which would only make the terrorists more vicious because they would be fighting with their backs to the wall.

* * *

_A rather long chapter this time. I hope you enjoyed._

_I'll be on holidays for the next week and I'm thus not sure whether I'll be able to finish the next chapter before next weekend. _

_Next chapter: Tifa meets Cloud and (most likely): Rufus calls Reeve. As far as I am seeing it, both parts won't amount to more than 2.500 words, so I'll putting them into one chapter. If you are be more comfortable with only one point of view per chapter, please tell me and I will split that chapter (and chapters with similar problems) into two. It will, most likely, not really effect the update speed, so it's just a matter of form. _

_Please review._


	59. Wherein Cloud Visits ShinRa

_I'm sorry for taking so long again. Thank you very much for writing so many reviews for the last chapter! It's always a delight to read them!_

_**Kadajclone100, SansaStark**: I'm sorry to disappoint you, Elena did not have much of an opportunity, yet, to get pregnant. At least not by Tseng. And I think she'd be rather careful about that, too. She's just putting on some weight because she's coping with stress by eating too much (chocolate, chips, whatever she likes)._

_**SansaStark, FrostQueen69**: I hope this chapter will answer your questions concerning Tifa's and Cloud's relationship. I tried to make it end not too bad._

_**SansaStark, Takeo-kun**: Reeve is certain that he's doing the right thing, so, from his point of view, he's not greying or doing anything wrong, he's just doing what is necessary to save the world. _

_**Markaka Cthulu**: I'm planning on another chapter that'll deal with Rufus's reaction to the entire situation. It will, quite likely, be in the next chapter and quite a bit along the line you've described._

_**Chaotic-rouge: **You've got a very good point. While I haven't been planning on bringing in more members of Avalanche, I'm sure Tifa might have some trouble explaining her actions situation to them._

_Now, the trouble is gathering way. Well, for Shin-Ra, anyway. I guess Reeve sees things a little differently._

_Since none of you complained, there'll be two parts in this chapter now, one from Tifa's point of view and the other from Rufus's._

_Please enjoy._

* * *

Chapter 59: Tifa, Rufus: In which Cloud visits Shin-Ra

_2. May, Wednesday late morning_

Tifa closed the door to the common room behind her. She was not sure anymore how she felt about the entire situation. Whether Tseng and Rufus were right and an attack was imminent. Whether Reeve was trying to lure her away. She found even the idea paranoid. She could not help but think, though, that it was a strange coincident that Cloud was demanding to see her immediately, too. Maybe, there was really something about the materia cure? Something, she had to admit, that both Reeve and Cloud seemingly did not want Rufus to know about. Or maybe something that just related to children.

Rufus... Tifa was not sure whether that what she felt for him was actually love. All she knew was that she enjoyed very much talking to him and that she wanted him with such ferocity that her heart hammered every time she thought about him. But was that love? It felt so different from everything she had felt for Cloud. It felt just like `want' and nothing more. Cloud, in all his actions, had seemed adorable to her; Cloud had never driven her nearly as crazy, Rufus just needed to open his mouth to set her off. Sometimes. Sometimes he said very reasonable things. And he was certainly not adorable, even if he had changed much. He was too calculating and callous to be adorable. Cloud had been and was still the handsomest man she had ever met. While Rufus had never been bad looking, Tifa could not think him handsome with those cold eyes, the pale skin and the cold expression that seemed to be part of his facial anatomy rather than assumed. His appearance was irritatingly flawless, which made him even less handsome, somewhat disquieting. Like an expensive china doll in a window in the shopping mall. As if he was untouchable, too perfect for this world. It annoyed her. She knew he had been raised to groom himself into untouchable perfection, to move that way, to be engaging when spoken to and handsome when looked at, but it irritated her to no end; it made it so difficult to tell what he was thinking and it suggested that he knew exactly how to create the impressions he wanted in people. Years, even months ago, she had disliked and maybe even feared the idea of so much control; Rufus was controlled in every way Cloud had never been and the idea of provoking him out of that control thrilled her. The way his hands looked so very unsuited for guns, but made for them once they wrapped around a handle. The fluid ease with which he pulled that gun, the moments when he was close to losing his temper. She loved the ever sos light impatient edge to his calm voice, the interest in his eyes when he asked a question - any question. She loved the way his shoulder blades where showing through the suit when he pushed his shoulders back, would have liked to stroke away the tired lines in his face, felt attracted to everything the suit disguised. It was so tempting to provoke him out of control. And he needed so much help. She had thought it had been Cloud all along who needed her to help him find his way. But Cloud could well get along by himself. Rufus - Rufus would certainly scorch her if she ever suggested he needed help, but it was evident that he could almost not go further. Maybe, it was what appealed to her most; the cracks that suggested that he was breaking down and that she might put out her hand and help him get up again. Go on.

With a sigh, she pushed the button to the elevator. She did not want to see Cloud. Did not want to hear what he could possibly have to say. Did not know what he wanted here after he had not cared for days, maybe even for months. All of the sudden. Her mirror image was frowning back at her as the elevator set into motion, taking her down, down down.

She had felt so comfortable here over the last few days. Like to help Elena with her work, liked the glimpses she got on how Shin-Ra was run. And was surprised to discover that she actually was talented with as well as liked the work she was doing for the company. Not as much as leading her bar, but it was pleasing, too. She liked to come back into the common room, watch the children play. She liked the idea that they were actually reading books to them – even if she had sometimes not even heard about the books while Rufus and Rude insisted they were the ground stock of every nursery. She thought that she liked it best if Elena read; Elena was almost acting the characters out.

The young woman had changed most evidently since she had first met her. She had become less talkative, sterner but also more cheerful. It was even clearer than before how much she adored Tseng.

The elevator admitted Tifa to the lowest story, all naked concrete walls, naked neon lights, cold numbers on the walls and pipes and tubes that were running at the ceilings. The guards at the gate followed her suspiciously with their eyes, standing rigid and ready. She could almost sense their tension. Although no red lights were flashing and no sirens howling, everyone here was strained to the snapping point. With so many threats hurled at Shin-Ra in the last few weeks, everyone was waiting with every second for the alleged attack and with every passing second it seemed more certain that it was coming.

It was no wonder that they loured, hands on their weapons, when they had to open the protecting gates for her. They made a fuss of studying her idea and glowered at her, darkly and frightened. She thought of the way Rufus sometimes glared at her, how the bones in his face had become more pronounced over the last few weeks, the tiredness that was leaving clear marks. She was glad she could help them.

As the heavy steel doors slid away noiselessly, bathed in the smell of machine oil, the hot dried out wind whirled in through the gap. The guards stepped back, into the shadows and guns ready, as the blazing sun crept forward over the concrete towards her. Tifa felt its unnatural heat crawling along her side, first over the right leg and shoulder, over her face, towards her left side. When the gate rattled into a halt, she stepped out into the hot concrete desert that stretched from the gate to the wire-mesh-fence, the barbed wire and the tiny first line of defense that was the first checkpoint onto Shin-Ra's property.

The wind was harsh and hot, coming from the baking country side. It pulled at her hair, hurled it into her face, the sun heating the back of her head rapidly. The hottest spring in years.

At the other end, the gate opened, admitting the well known form of Cloud into the baking nobody's land. Tifa felt the massive complex of Shin-Ra looming behind her, the scorching concrete sweltering itself through the soles as she advanced towards Cloud, his form hazy with the heat. The hills behind the town seemed to be wavering above the houses.

She crossed her arms when she stopped in front of Cloud, sweating in the baking breeze.

"Hello, Tifa," he smiled sadly at her, the mako in his eyes paling away against the fierce sun.

"Hello, Cloud." She hoped this was about Denzel's condition.

"So, you stayed."

"I stayed." She felt the sand on the concrete below her feet. A lonely plastic bag was torn loose by the wind and flung against the fence. The heat was like silk against her skin. She felt sweat running down her sternum.

"You have to leave."

She squinted her eyes against the glaring sun, thought of all the discussions she had had with Rufus, how guilty she felt about talking to him although she knew how he felt about her, that every time they talked they seemed to end up in a discussion and that he seemed to see things differently she had thought to be universal. She had believed she had figured out most of the principles of life, and suddenly, along came Rufus who thought that everyone did only what benefited him or her on the long term or – with most people as he appeared to think - only in that very moment. Which just could not be right since she had witnessed a lot of people doing many things that made no sense at all. Since she had witnessed people doing a lot of things that did not, particularly, benefited them. Rufus who should have been too tired for such discussions. She liked the discussions, liked they way they carefully tended to agree in the end, sometimes. Liked how many things were still open to discussion. She wanted to protect them. Wanted to give them a fair chance. Wanted to protect Rufus. He was looking so forelorn, so thin and worn.

Tifa shook her head. "I'm not leaving."

"Tifa...," again, that begging look was spreading over Cloud's face. She had always thought she worried too much and that was why she thought about things other people never thought of.

"Don't tell me again how bad they are, Cloud. They aren't. And I've made my choice."

"Then at least give me the children."

Tifa firmly shook her head. "No. They are better off here than with you." She felt so terribly cruel saying that, knowing how much the children liked Cloud, how much Cloud liked the children.

"Tifa!"

"No. Cloud. I'm not saying you shouldn't see them anymore - I hope you'll come to see them as often as possible, but they can't live with you. Who'll look after them if you go cruising again? What happens if one of your jobs takes longer again? Do you expect Marlene to walk herself home from school? Or Denzel to cook? At least, someone is looking after them here. They learn things here we could never teach them. And it's not immoral or bad! It's - it's things they'll need!" However much she tended to disagree about certain points of education with Rufus, he did know more about manners than she did. He and Rude also did know about all those stories behind phrases politicians and important people used, could teach the children to fit in. From Rufus, they could even pick up that silly, stuck up upper class accent. When they went to university, they would not stick out like a sore thumb she had heard those few lucky ones from the slums had been at university.

Cloud nodded, slowly, sadly. "I'm not here to take the children away, Tifa. You've – well, you're right if you say I'd probably not make a very good single father while - they all say so - you've made a wonderful mother so far... and ... you could always judge people and situations better than I could and I truly hope that you'll not find you've been mistaken about them. Maybe, they changed. Maybe, they really did. I don't think they did. But... I would still like to ask you to leave. Get the children and leave while there's still time. Please. I promise, I won't be in Edge if you decide to go back there. But please leave."

Tifa felt off-balanced by the words, estranged. Puzzled. Felt uneasy with Cloud admitting to be wrong. It had always been his last resort to get her to do something he had badly wanted her to do. She had usually agreed, feeling so very sorry because she had known that she had been wrong, too. Now, it made her suspicious. For it reminded her of what Rufus and Tseng had suspected behind Reeve's call like something dark climbing up her back. "Why?"

Cloud hesitated, then gave a sigh, looking tired. "They'll be coming today and, whatever your choices are, Tifa, I don't want you and the children to get hurt."

"The terrorists?" Tifa asked back, slowly, her inside suddenly cold despite the heat.

Cloud nodded. "I won't have anything to do with it, but – you shouldn't be here. They'll kill everyone in the building and they've planned it well. Please leave."

"If they'll try to kill everyone, I think this is exactly the place I should be. And so should you." She crossed her arm in front of her chest.

Cloud shook his head. "I'm... I know you'll tell Shinra about it. I'm, - Tifa, you can't expect me to fight on their side after all that has happened!"

Tifa gave a sigh. "I'm just saying that whatever they are doing, if they are killing everyone, that's just wrong. If soldiers kill soldiers, that's another issue, but..."

Cloud nodded. "You can't kill innocent. That's right. But... it's Shin-Ra, Tifa. They aren't innocent. Everyone on Avalanche would agree. At least give me the children to get them into safety."

"The children are one the way to Reeve already, don't worry, Cloud. I wouldn't stay if I'd have to endanger them for that." Even if she wasn't sure anymore she could trust Reeve. Why had he told her something about Geostigma and not about the attack? Even as she spoke she realized that, before, she would not have hesitated another moment to trust the children to Cloud. And now, she rather shipped them off to Reeve. But it was true; Cloud could well look after the children for an afternoon or two, but not on a regular basis. It made her feel guilty because she knew that the children would very much like to see Cloud again and that Cloud was probably missing the children immensely.

Cloud hesitated but nodded then, slowly. "That sounds alright, I guess."

Tifa gave a nod, feeling worry deep inside her. "You will be careful, won't you, Cloud?"

Cloud gave her a somewhat puzzled look. "I'm always careful, you know that, Tifa."

"I'm just saying... I mean, the world has changed. Be careful."

Cloud nodded, hesitated a heartbeat. "I'll go east."

Tifa gave a nod, too. "Give my regards to Yuffi, will you?" With a pang, she realised that Yuffi was not going to take it very kindly that she was helping Shin-Ra now. Barret would not, either. Nobody of her friends would. Maybe, Barret would even try to get Marlene back. But did he have any say in it? She and Cloud had adopted the children officially, after all. Vincent would, she felt, be one who would understand her most. But were they not all her friends? Even if they would not approve, they would not condemn her. They would accept. With difficulties and it would take a lot of effort, but they would not turn away. Certainly not. And they, too, must have realised to parts how the world had changed. Reeve certainly had not turned away from her. He was still a good friend.

Cloud nodded. "I will." He hesitated again. "I really hope you won't regret your choice, Tifa."

She smiled. "I won't. I'm sure of it." She was anxious now, wanted to return as quickly as possible to warn the others. She was half turning back to the building, when Cloud's voice stopped her again in her steps:

"Tifa, good luck."

"Good luck to you, too." She turned fully, moving back through the heat towards the huge gate into the building. When she knocked against it thrice, he was still standing in the middle of the square, his form blurred by the heat and she could not think about anything else than warning the others. She doubted that _Sulfur_}s raid would find anything but a barely empty hide out. And then, it would be too late. The iron gate admitted her into the stuffy interior of the company building as she took out her mobile to call Tseng.

\\

Rufus sat down behind his table, half turned to the window. The sun was warm on his face. His eyes travelled over the scorched town, the blackened, busy harbour that was still cleaned up. Part of his mind, as he picked up the phone, thought about how it was way too hot for Junon and especially for this time of the year.

Most part of his mind was occupied with feeling incredibly nauseated. Reeve was drawing his people away. Reeve was asking Tifa to leave with the children. Rufus had never counted much on Reeve. Still. He had never thought the man would really just expose him to die. He had thought that Reeve would at least let his soldiers stay to make sure that the Shin-Ra employees could be evacuated safely. He had never believed that Reeve would make the somewhat smarter but less moral decision to fortify his own headquarters, maybe pick up fugitives and at no point risk his own people's lives.

Rufus rather doubted that back up from _Sulfur_ would be there in time to protect them. Cloud was trying to lure Tifa away, too, and he feared that, once she had talked to Cloud, she would agree. It would be logical. If Reeve was not helping them, it was very likely that the rest of Avalanche agreed with him or Cloud. That meant if Tifa stayed, she would most likely be going against the opinion of all her friends. As far as Rufus was aware going against the opinion of one's friends was very difficult. If they felt as strongly about Shin-Ra as Cloud did, then, maybe, Tifa was risking to loose her friends. Rufus doubted that she would choose them over his friends. Or him. Even the thought of her leaving again felt like a dark, heavy knot inside him. He doubted she was even close to care enough about him to risk losing her friends. But still. He did not want her to leave.

He pressed the phone against his ear, calling up Reeve's number. Maybe, it was really just like Reeve to turn away now that the payments were getting less. To make sure that Shin-Ra was going down. Rufus would have liked to think that it was not like Tifa to turn away. They had had several very interesting - strangely peaceful - conversations over the last few days. She did seem to like him, so much for sure. Still, she had left for Cloud before.

The dailling tone was ringing into his ear. He knew that WRO still needed his money. Money he did not have presently. He was too tired to think about whether he would have again in future. Felt too empty and exhausted.

"Reeve Tuesti?" The other end of the phone answered, a little irritated.

"Good morning, Reeve." He hated having to ask for WRO's support. To beg them to send their soldiers because Shin-Ra did not have enough to defend itself anymore and he had counted on WRO to at least lend a little support. He hated that _Sulfur_ would, most likely, take too long to be there for help, because all the available troupes were in Surna and would only be able to help after that terrorist's headquarters had been stamped out. Whether that was any use anymore or not. The rest of _Sulfur_'s forces were in Kalm. It would take hours to bring them in.

"Oh, good morning, Rufus. I didn't expect you to call today."

Rufus forced himself not to snap anything. He did not mind too much being lied to in general. Most times, he found out about it quickly enough when it mattered. However, he hated being lied to by people like Reeve who just could not lie but expected him to buy it. "Didn't you? And I thought that I was rather predictably calling after you are withdrawing your troupes. How comes?"

"We've had a warning this morning that Junon might be subject to a terrorist attack today. I need to make sure WRO's facilities are protected; you will understand, I wouldn't want my employees to come to any harm."

Rufus turned the pencil in his hand, angry. "Certainly not. Would be a shame. However, you would gladly sacrifice a few of Shin-Ra's employees for that."

"I don't stationed the troupes there to protect your empire. I need them now to protect my own people."

"We will be evacuating. I'm sure my employees would be grateful to WRO for every further soldier who protects them and you know we don't have enough people to guarantee a safe retreat." He hated to be begging. He hated to have to rely on Reeve. He hated that he had sunken so far. That Shin-Ra could not even protect itself anymore. That _Sulfur_ was still too weak, too occupied. Too far away to make it in time.

"You are only asking for those people to save your company, Rufus. Your employees have nothing to do with that."

Of course, Reeve was right with what he said, but Rufus was not about to let him know. He, at least, could lie. "They've got everything to do with it. This is not about money or power, Reeve, this is..."

"You've been trying for years to get back to power, Rufus. You've even stopped to think that you owe the planet. You're dangerous, you're arrogant and most of all, you and your company are an obstacle to rebuilding the planet. I don't know any reason why I should help you."

"Maybe because those people will die if you don't protect them? People might not like that."

"Don't think you can threaten me, Rufus. You've got nothing to threaten me with. Don't think we can't do without your blood money anymore. It's you who still needs to pay it. What do you think will happen if people found out that you don't feel as sorry as you claim? That you aren't paying out of remorse but to bribe? - Just leave. Get into your helicopter and go to Costa del Sol and pray that there'll never be a law that'll hold you responsible for Meteor."

"Now, that would certainly be a most just law. I do however take your point and I'll be leaving gladly. But what about the people who are working for me? Shin-Ra's still the largest employer in town. Do you really want to sacrifice them? For your new world?"

"I don't think anyone of your employees will come to any harm. They are welcome to our WRO facilities and we'll protect them _there_. The terrorists don't care about them. I've been assured of that. The only one who's threatened is you. So, don't act as if you care, we both know you don't. All you care about is the few papers and the money you might still save if we buy you time. No more lies, Rufus. Shin-Ra is finally done and I welcome it."

The pencil snapped between Rufus's fingers. "Don't underestimate the things that I would do, Reeve." He forced himself to pronounce those words quietly, cold fear inside him as his computer screen showed him that the alarm had been raised because one of the gates had not closed. He felt himself shivering despite the heat of the sun in his back. The friendly voice that was politely asking everyone to evacuate the building orderly was howling into life. Reeve was right. WRO facilities _were_ right next door. Most of the employees _could_ make it there unharmed. And maybe, Reeve had even struck a deal. Rufus switched off the computer and motioned to get up. It had been the best idea to sent the children away with Rude. He, for one, would not leave without Tseng and Tifa. He felt nauseated as he continued: "Fortuna rota volvitur, Reeve."

"Well, someone once said that that only matters to the people on the rim. This really isn't personal, Rufus. I wish you the best luck."

The line went dead on Rufus and he found himself standing in the middle of the sun flooded room. He felt too empty to be angry. With shaky hands, he called up Tseng's number, moving out of the empty room. Everything important was in Kalm already. It had to be.

"Are the children gone?"

"Rude's left fiveteen minutes ago. I'll meet you in your official office in ten minutes."

"Good."

"I've called _Sulfur_ for backup."

Rufus was about to add another `good' when the first explosion rattled the building. "We'd better hurry." He snapped his mobile close, heard the sirens going, leaned against the wall. He felt completely empty.

Shin-Ra was done for and he had no idea how he could have saved it. What he could still do. What he could have done.

The vibration of another explosion thundered through the building and let the plaster crumble. This time, he even heard the roar through the sirens.

He had failed.

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed._

_The next chapter will be about Elena who's watching the raid and presumably Rufus's reaction to the entire situation. I hope I'll be able to post it somewhen next week._

_Please review._


	60. Darkness, Be My Friend

_Thank you very much for writing so many reviews again! I was again very delighted to read them!_

_**SansaStark, Chaotic-rouge,****Novae-rog-tala, takeo-kun**: Reeve's great strength is to act upon knowing that he is absolutely right with what he does and of course, Rufus vexed him often enough. The question is whether Reeve is indeed as right as he believes to be or if he learned from the wrong man. … I mean, honestly, I'd ask myself what I've done wrong if Rufus commended me on my actions._

_**Novae-rog-tala**: I don't think I'll have much room to include Avalanche; I'm planning to write the entire attack from three views already. I think you're right if you're saying that Cloud would protect Tifa if the thought that she's in danger. However, the problem is that he has to choose between fighting for a party he doesn't believe in against people whose aims he thinks just and with whom he spent quite a bit of time. For him, the situation is a bit like as if Tifa had joined Rufus back on the roof after Rufus proclaimed 'to rule the world with fear'. _

_**Takeo-kun**: thanks for worring about orthography. I'll remove your superplus reviews once I figured out how. I'm not quite sure, though, if Tifa's friends will be as understanding as she assumes. I'm also, I'm sorry to say, not really sure if Tifa is good or, rather, has been good to begin with. But at least – and that's where I think you've made a very good point – she is trying to be good and do justice to everyone._

_**Markaka Cthulu**: I'm glad if I managed to give an impression of grey... it is one of my aims in writing this story, describing that none of the characters is really entirely good or bad... especially not Reeve although he thinks himself so. I think you're perfectly right about Tifa; she'd be much better off if she just forgot about Rufus and Cloud and looked for someone else. But I think the problem is – as you mention – that she 'needs to be needed' and someone who wouldn't cause her as much trouble would probably not need her as badly. Yes, and Rufus would still like to rule the world, given the chance..._

_**lacan**: Thank you very much! I agree perfectly with your analysis of the situation. So... wait and see ;-)_

_**LovePeace1010**: Absolutely right! If Rufus still had the power for it, he would, without a doubt, murder Reeve. The terrorists are about the same kind of people as Avalanche was. I tried to write a scene in which Tifa talks to one of the terrorists but it did not work out, sadly. _

_So, this is the next chapter now. Not very long this week, but I hope the next chapter will be a little longer. _

_**Be warned**__: This chapter is _not _going to be nice. I do hope that you will enjoy reading nontheless._

* * *

Chapter 60: Elena, Rufus: Darkness, Be My Friend

_2. May, Morning_

The room was dark, illuminated only by the monitors. Elena felt awkward in the chair at the back. As if somebody had made a mistake by placing her here. But Tseng wanted to be updated on the mission as soon as possible and she had worked for weeks and ever since Fontainebleau had appeared like crazy to make this raid possible. Still, it felt rather awkward to leave the mission to the others – much more experienced – Turks and just watch. And inform Tseng in case things were going well. When they had found the terrorists. When they had stopped them. She hoped so much this action would make it possible to stop them before anyone at Shin-Ra could come to any harm. If this was over, she would at last be seeing Tseng more often. Every day, perhaps even every night. He had promised to accompany her swimming next time she went – she really had to; she was eating way too much and it was starting to show. She shifted in her chair in the small room they had called operation headquarters in an old building in Surna. She could not but stare at the monitors, full of apprehension, on which Reno's helicopter was slowly closing in on that farm house they had made out as the hideout. Confirmed it as much as it could be confirmed in such a short time. Positioning systems showed that the other soldiers were ready and her hands were still sweaty from typing the short message to Tseng.

She held her breath when all around the house, the teams came to a halt. As Reno's helicopter shot closer to give air support. The soldiers had to be aiming their guns now.

She knew the procedure. Had read it, had worked on it with the others. And was now damned only to watch. _First, fill the rooms with stunning gas_. The men fired. _Main force: wait for order to close in_. Reno's helicopter shot over the roof, stopped in the midair. Elena imagined how the special units abseiled from the helicopter as downstairs the stunning gas bombs exploded.

The helicopter was barely hovering now, almost low enough, slightly blurred on the monitors.

Eight shadows slipped past the camera of Reno's helicopter, passing in a rush. _Shoot everyone you meet. Don't take any chances if you can't knock them out._

In the edge of the monitor, suddenly, something moved and even while Elena was still turning her head to see if that had been a fly or something serious, hell broke lose. Elena felt completely helpless as fire shot up, gunfire rattled, forced to watch the events flashing over the monitor. The order to move in roared into her ears and in the same heartbeat, the rattling of machine guns drowned everything. Simultaneously, Reno's copilot was shouting they were under fire, his voice drowned by the roaring of the powering up of the engins, the rattling of the board canon. In a rush of colours, the helicopter darted away from the roof, fire shooting up all around and past it, clouding the vision of the camera. Frantic commands crackled into Elena's ears, around her, people were yelling. She heard herself shouting at Reno to get the hell out. - Reno shouted back, his voice overturning in her ears, shouted that they were hit and on the screen, Elena saw the roof passing just underneath the helicopter, black smoke everywhere, shots passing, another explosion on another screen, the roof falling down as the helicopter gathered height, fire rushing, the camera going black. And then, on yet another screen, the shaky camera of another soldier, the flames engulfed the chopper, it was smoking, rising, losing height almost concurrently, gaining height again until something crashed into its back and ripped it away. For the moment that Reno's voice was shouting they had been hit, the helicopter hesitated in the air. Then, it started spinning around its own axis, faster, faster and faster, losing altitude, crashed into the burning roof of the house, a huge explosion following only breaths later, tearing the roof apart, parts flying into every direction.

"Reno!" Her voice rang in her own ears, through the shouts in the room. She could not take her eyes off the burning ruin on the screen, off the rotors that had torn through the walls and buried themselves in the ground. Everything was full of shouts, of smoke, of the hammering of automatic guns over the intercome, explosions from hand granades. Through smoke and dust and fire, shadows were hurling fire, ice and poison, the guns rattling back, mowing them down within in seconds, mowing down the entire building.

Her headset stayed silent as much as she shouted Reno's name into it, only static returning and in what seemed the next second, she felt Veld's hand on her shoulder.

"Call from Tseng. The headquarter is under attack."

Elena stared at Veld, stared at the screen, at the images of burning fire on them, of crackling reports, the blazing wrackage of the helicopter, mixed with her own memories of the fire, Midgar's evacuation under the red moon. Before her inner eyes, she already saw Tseng fighting in vain, dying as Reno just was, choking panic flashing through her brain as the sentence wormed itself into her head, together with fear, endless fear that this inferno was repeating itself in Junon.

She tore her eyes away from the monitors, to Veld's scarred face over which the pictures of fire were flashing. She had to go.

"Is the helicopter ready?" Veld asked.

"I had it prepared," she replied almost automatically, nodded faintly, forced herself away from the monitors, clasped her hands into her fists. "I'll get them out alive. I know."

Veld nodded. "Good luck."

Elena took a deep breath and nodded, readying herself to turn away, stopped in her movement as she reached out for the door. "Reno..."

"We will do what we can."

She nodded. But years with Tseng had made her an expert on reading expressions that were not even there, and Veld's expression clearly said that he did not have much – if any hope – for Reno. She swallowed, not saying anything but turned to leave. Running away. She did not know what to tell Tseng and Rufus and Rude once she faced them. In her back, the mission itself was going well. Even as she turned, reports were ringing in that opposition had stopped. That nobody was shooting back anymore. The area was a good as secured, few of their people hurt, resistance strong but weakly organized.

Too much resistance for Reno.

Elena closed the door behind her, set into motion in the direction of the helicopter port, picking up her jacket and guns on the way to there. Whatever had happened in that room, they had to get Tseng and Rufus out now. That was why she was here. What she had been waiting for. What was she going to tell the others? That the raid was going promisingly? That they had almost entirely overrun the HQ when she had left? What was she going to tell Rude when she faced him in a couple of hours? What was happening in Junon? - She hoped nothing would but that Reeve's and their people would stop the terrorists before they could even enter the headquarter – but who knew? She had hoped so much that they would prevent the terrorist, that they would overrun them and that there would not be a way they could endanger Junon. Now, she feared for Tseng and Rufus and the children – and Tifa.

She pushed the doors open and walked onto the warm, dusty patch of stamped earth where the helicopter was shimmering in the sunny spring. Where the last Turks were putting out their cigarettes, sunglasses against the bright sun, dark suits everywhere, just like old days. The fresh green leaves on the trees, the mangy patches of green grass stepped on too many times. The endless blue of the retaining lake, the grey of the barely repaird dam. The Turks nodded into her direction as she advanced towards them, the sun nicely warm on her shoulders. It was smelling so very much like spring, so many beautiful smells on the air, the green so fresh and young.

She should have felt her heart rising. Five years with the Turks and finally a Turk mission. Accepted, saluted, everything she had always dreamt of being. Of having. Instead, she could not get the image of Reno's burning helicopter out of her head. How it had crashed into the building. The explosion.

When she arrived, the Turks had already filled into the helicopter, armed to the teeth. Knife was waiting next to the cockpit, the other Turks gave her thumbs up, everyone very positive that hers and Tseng's plan could not fail. That they would get Shachou and Fuku-shachou out and that it would not be a problem. Looking forward to drink to it in a bar this evening.

"Well?" Knife asked, curiously, hoisting himself into the cockpit.

Elena tried to smile. "It's going well," she answered and lied passed her lips readily. "They might not need materia to produce spells, but they don't have our training." The analyse surprised herself most. But – it was the conclusion that forced itself upon her after watching that inferno. Their enemy fought back, casting spells quicker than she had ever seen before, but they had little military training and no obvious experience in warfare. They made good terrorists, but as soon as they were forced into open fight in Junon, they would, most likely, be overcome quickly by their and WRO soldiers. Still. How were you to distinguish between a terrorist and a normal person? Their helpers did not even have white spots. Even if Shin-Ra had increased security as much as it could be increased, it could be that those terrorists would just be able to waltz into the building, kill Tseng and Rufus and everybody and waltz out again. Especially if Isolde Fontainebleau knew someone who could help them with excessing the building. How far would they get before they ran into any opposition? Would they run in any opposition at all? Were they, maybe, already there? The very people they trusted?

Knife put on his headset and she climbed in, too, felt her hands shaking as she put on her own headset as the rotor gathered speed. Slipping the set over her ears, she swallowed the tears, looked straight ahead over the brown earth, the green patches at the rural houses before the helicopter heaved itself almost weightlessly over the buildings and over the deep, flawless blue of the lake that sloshed against the damn and the white topped mountains around it.

It felt as if they were all doomed.

\\

Rufus sunk down against the wall, his head spinning from the conversation with Reeve. The building was trembling and he felt the vibration transmitting into his body. The sirens were blaring into his ears, the friendly voice asking the employees to leave the building on the shortest possible way and he did not know what to do.

He had known, deep down inside him, that this day would come. They had prepared for it. He had done everything. Everything he could think of to prevent it. Had increased security beyond good measure. Now, the terrorists had been lead into the building and were bombing their way up to him.

He had failed grandiously.

Shin-Ra was gone. Had run away between his fingers like sand. Four years. He had fought for fours years and all he had done had just been another nail to the coffin.

He who had dreamt all those dreams of grandeur in Junon. How he would do everything better than his father.

He had tried to tell himself that _Sulfur_ was nothing else but Shin-Ra under a different name. But that was not true. _Sulfur_ was just not Shin-Ra, just a sorry excuse, the last, frail attempt to save his heirloom.

He knew the tide had already turned even before he had become president. Had watched it turn.

Had thought he could prevent it.

All those plans – all those beautiful plans he had made had just failed. He was none better then that pathetic father of his.

Failed all his ideas, failed his heirloom – his Turks. Himself.

The wailing of the sirens was ringing through his body. He closed his eyes against the warm sun that was shining into the corridor, reflecting on the polished floor. He tried to summon anything that would keep him going just a little further like he had after every desaster in the past four years. The guilt of having been unable to prevent – not to have foreseen – Meteor and Shin-Ra's fall. The knowledge that out of the ashes, he could make Shin-Ra rise again. The money he had stuffed into WRO so they would not look too closely, so he could pay off fate. The knowledge that he just had to stop Kadaj and his gang if he ever wanted Shin-Ra to rise again. If he wanted to live. That he was dying anyway and that, at least, he could die leaving a legend. Not like a pathetic failure. Not from Geostigma. By his own choice. Because one could not, ever, give in. Because Shin-Ra had still been strong. Because he had owed it to Tseng not to give up.

Now – there was nothing left. Nothing standing anymore. As much as he tried to grasp. As the fire alarm mixed with the evacuation signal. Shin-Ra was gone. Just like a plume of smoke.

He felt the tears in his eyes. Clenched his teeth, told himself to get up. Did not know where to, what to do. Why.

He tried. Knew he had to.

Tried to think about Tseng, Tifa. _Sulfur_. The Turks. Tried to get up from the cold floor again. Forced himself.

Could not.

Just could not move anymore.

Felt so sick of himself. That he could not even get up to save his own life.

"Rufus."

Suddenly, Tseng was standing in front of him, in the empty, sun flooded corridor, dust dancing in the light around his black suit.

He realized that he had been biting into his palm.

"We've got to leave," Tseng said, and Rufus cursed himself for just sitting there. Why could he not just heave himself up again, go on? "They've entered through the kitchens. They got a fire mage..."

He just felt tired. Too tired to move. Not even bitter, just empty. Grey. That big, black hole in his chest that had been there for weeks was swallowing everything. Tried to fight back, tried to get himself to listen to Tseng, to get up, could not care.

"Tifa's waiting in your office. The children are off to Kalm and she's securing our escape until we're there. We've got to leave."

The words barely touched anything inside him, just information rolling off his mind. He told himself that Tseng would wait till the end of the world for him. Had not even dared to hope that Tifa would return from Cloud. That she, too, would wait and secure their escape. Wait for him. He forced himself to take that information in, coerced himself into at least nod, slowly. Tried to breathe. Tried to find strength, somewhere. "I'll follow." This was not the time for weakness. Not now. Tseng had come for him. They would not leave without him. Tseng would rather die. He had to get up.

He could not get up.

"Tifa told me to knock you out and carry you out if you won't come." Tseng's remaining hand wrapped around his wrist, was strangely rough, not at all kind, warm, the strain Tseng was putting on his arm almost painful. "I told her you would never give up."

Tseng would rather die than leave without him. That Tifa would not leave without him came as much of a surprise. She had come back. So, he meant something to her. At least a little bit. She would not have come back from Cloud, otherwise. Rufus felt a tear escaping his eyes. Asked himself if it was worth it. But that was the wrong question; Tseng had come and Tifa was waiting. He could not let them die. Whatever _Sulfur_ was, he would not have anyone say that he had given up. Would not have her or Tseng die here because he had to feel sorry for himself. He closed his hand around Tseng's wrist, he felt the warmth in the touch, the strength. Drew in a breath and then another one. He forced every strain into his legs to get himself to move. Forced a smirk onto his face that came almost easy, clenched his fists. She was waiting for him. "Not I."

Tseng's grip tightened, helped him up, the metal grasp still too strong when the Turk reinforced his hold.

"Let's go," Tseng said.

Rufus nodded, brushing at his hair, breathing, The sirens were still blaring around them and he felt the building shaking again. And yet, his heart was moving, thinking that Tseng was repeating _Tifa_'s words. That she, indeed, cared that bloody much.

So, he would just have to change his opinion about _Sulfur_. Somehow. Just change his opinion. Nothing as easy or more difficult than that.

Tseng stopped him in his movement, place the metal hand on his shoulder. The sun was warm, but it felt so very dark, sirens howling all around him. He saw the lie in Tseng's eyes even as the man spoke. "We will handle this, Rufus. We will."

Rufus put his own hand on Tseng's shoulder, closed his eyes and breathed in the Turk's closeness, his Turk's own helplessness. "Of course we will, Tseng."

His father would have accepted destruction. That's why he had laughed at the idea of building an escape route. Not him.

* * *

_Very well, that's it for today. Next chapter hopefully next week.. I'll continue with Rufus's, Tseng's and Tifa's attempt to escape._

_Please review._


	61. Escape

_Thank you for reviewing so diligently again!_

_**SansaStark, **_**LovePeace1010**_: I think it's one of Rufus's more positive sides that he seems to be able to pick himself up again, no matter what happens. It takes a lot to do that. It's also what I think makes up most part of his arrogance; he knows who he is and he knows how he got there and that he could do it again._

_**Chaotic-rouge**: Thank you. I think the situation is pretty easy: You bother to review, I bother to answer (as long as I know what to answer without spoilering)._

_**Takeo-kun**: You are summing up wonderfully how I feel about the story and the views of the people in it; it's a matter of perspective. How long will this story still be? Well, I could write on for ages, but there'll only be four more chapters._

_So, let's continue with the next part of the escape. Please enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 61: Rufus: Escape

_2. May, Wednesday, late morning_

"Let's go." Tseng let go, turned, the bright light reflecting back from the white floor. The wailing from the sirens would have seemed unreal in this peaceful, sun flooded corridor if it had not been so loud.

Rufus nodded, blinded by the light, and set into motion to follow Tseng towards the staircase. It was so warm, no one here but them. "You wouldn't have knocked me out, though, would you?" he asked, most of all to cling to the idea that Tifa was, indeed, waiting. To just keep going on. The building around them was quaking with the explosions, plaster raining down on them.

"Well..."

"Well, thanks for trying to talk to me first." Another explosion rattled the building, almost threw him off his feet as he tried to ignore it and the roar of a collapse that overlaid the sirens. _Do not allow it to hurt_. He nearly stumbled to keep up with Tseng, through the door, up the stairs, heard running steps below them, even through the sirens, people shouting, doors slamming. The shouts were getting louder and the closing door locked out the sun. The building quaked, debris, plaster, was raining down around them, hit his skull, his shoulders, the sirens wailing in his ears as he tried to keep his balance against the banister, his heart was hammering with nauseating pain, Tseng hurrying in front of his.

Just as the staircase was rattled by another explosion and dark hot smoke shot up beside them he realised that it meant the world to him that Tseng had come for him. That Tifa was waiting. Smoke got into his lungs between the heavy breaths, mixed with the acid smell of rising fire. Its heat, its fumes, were shooting up through the staircase, clouding his vision, choking his breath. Behind them, below him, he heard someone yelling, couldn't understand a word through the wailing, the building quaked, cracks racing up the walls next to him, he almost fell, blaring red flashed up the stairway from below them, blazing fire, illuminating everything in red hot heat as the lights flickered out and the voices below turned into agonizing screams, ringing loud in his ears. His eyes were watering with the thick smoke, speckled with the screams and the sparks, stink of burning carpet, burning wood, burning tapestry – burning flesh.

Tseng, coughing, pressing a tissue to his mouth, rammed his shoulder into the door to the next story, another explosion caromed through the building, the sirens and the evacuation signal faded in an agonizing moan, the screams of the people were dying away and Rufus propelled himself through the door, just in time to see the steel of the elevators doors bulging outwards, used the rest of his momentum to throw himself against Tseng, pulling the Turk down before the elevator exploded in an orange deluge of fire and debris, roaring over them, slamming the door behind them, painfully drawing the air out of his lungs, debris, plaster, parts of the ceiling smashing down around them, clawing into his back, cutting into his hand and hammering them onto the back of his head, leaving him completely disorientated, coughing on the cold stone floor, between shattered glass, debris and burning furniture, deafened by the roar.

He felt himself breathing laboriously, felt Tseng's forced breath, the screams – every noise – seemed to have stopped in smoke heavy air – seemed to have stopped apart from sudden faint shouts that were coming up the staircase behind them, barely audible to his numbed ears. Coming up quicker, not running away, advancing. Following them. Someone must have seen them. Or they could just guess where they were headed.

Tseng seized his wrist, was up on his legs again, pulled him after him, into the burning corridor, the heat hitting into his face like a fist, into the black smoke. Simultaneously, the sprinklers exploded, water shooting into every direction, into the smoke, clouding view even further, hissing in the fire, the voices – steps – behind them closer, clearly audible now.

Rufus slipped in the water on the stone floor, almost fell, stumbled forward, reaching for his gun. The water was a cold as ice, the heat from the elevators, the burning area around it, the burning ceiling, almost too hot to bear. His official office was just behind the elevators. Only around the next corner. Past the roaring fire. The doors of the rooms around had been blown open, their glass shattered, everything in flames and hissing with the artificial rain, smoke in his lungs, on his breath, in his eyes, everywhere. Just past the elevators. The heat was almost unbearable, robbing the air out of his lungs, burning his throat, fire flashing, licking out of the elevators, the voices behind them shouting, louder, so close already.

A burning body on the floor, heat made it almost impossible to breathe, water hissing on his face. Another quake rattling the building, he stumbled, almost fell, the structure, the floor moaned, creaked, the walls parted in a rift, racing over the ground floor crumbling, crashing down under into the parting hole, he stumbled, hastened forward, something moving behind them through smoke, rushing water, shadows. The water was icy on his skin, heat unbearable in his face, flames jetted into their direction, they had almost reached the elevator.

Their pursuers were through the door.

"Cover your mouth!" He seized Tseng's shoulder, tried to quicken his steps, slipping, face away from the fire, pressed his sleeve against his face.

Shouts behind them, no water here, hissing away in the air.

He closed his eyes against the heat, Tseng drawing him merciless onwards, the water hot where it hit him, the air burning him, he could not breathe.

Tseng dragged him into that burning hell, around a corner, he stumbled, heard loud shouts behind him, something crashed into the wall, missed them only by millimetres.

"Run!"

He saw the door at the other end of the corridor, untouched, as if the fire and smoke were not choking away his breath, nothing but the sprinkler's water, slipped as he tried to run, almost fell. In the same heartbeat, he felt something passing, saw icicles hammering into the wall where he had been only a heartbeat before.

Rufus threw himself against the heavy door, saw, out of the edge of the eye, how the fire was staunched, how the shadows advanced through the burning debris, running, arms lifted to fire. The door gave way under him and he almost fell into the room.

Tifa was standing in front of them, water hammering down around her, a glove with materia sparkling on each knuckle was pointed directly towards them. Fire shot from them, just past his face, heat singeing his skin, water gushing down in all direction. There was deadly determination in her face, he heard the fire roaring past his ear. He had not ever beheld anything or anyone more beautiful.

"Get in!" Without another moment of hesitation, she seized him, pulled him into the office, the doors slammed closed behind them, he heard a key turn, just in the last moment as things smashed from the outside against the door.

"To the helicopter!" Tseng commanded.

Tifa shook her head. "They blew up the helicopter platform."

Rufus could not but notice that she was eyeing them up and down for injuries, saw the shattered wall where the exit to a platform should have been. The forms of two bodies that were lying uncommented in front of the debris. Warm spring air carrying the rushing water from the sprinkles out over the ocean.

They were at a dead end with only a feeble door between them and a bunch of very angry people with superhuman powers.

His eyes hastened through the room, looking for anything that could help them, any chance of escape. Nothing. Just a normal, megalomaniac office. Then, his eyes caught the desk. Had his father built an escape here, too?

"To the desk!" Tseng snapped, as if reading his thoughts. "Hurry!"

Something hit the door behind them again and he hurried after Tifa and Tseng, towards the desk. The door would only keep the terrorists for a moment and that moment would be very short. Again, something slammed into the door, he heard the painful moan it gave in reply, smelled the fire even here, the room was full of water, rushing down around them, torn out by the warm spring air into that unbelievably warm and peaceful spring day. Behind him, just as he reached the table, the locks were already glowing, the door quivering under yet another impact.

"Get in!" Tseng had reached the desk first, already bent down, seemed to know exactly what he was looking for. The door bulged in its hinges, the floor was quaking, rifts racing over the walls, the ground.

"Now!" Tifa snapped, he felt her grasping around his elbow, pushing him forward. "Get in!"

This time, the fire that hit the door flashed out through the cracks and Rufus did not hesitate however much he wanted to object that it did not make sense to wait for him to go first.

Rufus saw Tseng lifting his gun at the cracking door, propelled himself forward into the nothingness of that black hole that swallowed all the light, all the water, slipped through as quickly as possible.

"Open the door at the end!" Tseng ordered, pushed a torch into his hand.

"And hurry, we'll need a quick get away!" Tifa's voice came only barely audible through the noise of another explosion and Rufus found himself after almost a meter's drop on quaking ground, the water running down from the office, down the stairs into the darkness. He propelled himself forward as quickly as possible to make room for the others, fell against one of the walls as yet another explosion tore through the building, slamming painfully into the stairs, got up again, hurried onwards.

But after he had hurried down a few steps, it struck him that the others were not following. Not a single step behind him. Instead, he heard Tseng's pistol firing, the darkness oppressive below him, the water glittering on the stairs, felt uneasy, hoped that the idiot would not make a hero out of himself. Nor Tifa. Why were they not following? He hesitated, anxious. Should he not be fighting up there with them? Tseng had ordered him to open the door at the end. But who was he to take orders?

He forced himself to climb further down the stairs into the moist dark, reluctant to move away from the others. He was an adequate shooter, but he was not brilliant and neither was he trained for close combat. He knew that up there, he would make a liability out of himself. Tseng wanted him protected. Not fighting with them. He was not abandoning them, however much it felt like it. It made very good sense that they sent him down to open the door at the other end. Tseng and Tifa would surely slip in as soon as the opportunity came; they would need to get out very, very quickly, so, someone had to open the door at the other end.

Still, it felt so very much like he was deserting them and it made every step hurt like a stab to the back with that strange guilt.

How could he even feel guilty? He was the head of Shin-Ra. Heads did not get into any kind of gun fights, they left their people to deal with that while they ran away. It felt so much like running cowardly away. It made him sick to think that they could get hurt while he was fleeing.

But he was paying Tseng to protect him with his life.

He was not paying Tifa for any such thing. Should he not have been up there, protecting her, too? Even the thought was silly. He, protecting Tifa? He remembered her standing in that doorway, the artificial rain rushing down around her, that materia peppered glove that had been pointed at them. That look in her eyes. Tifa who had fought Sephiroth and lived to tell. She was likely to take it very badly if he even tried to act like an idiot and give himself any airs about protecting her.

The only useful thing he could do was open that bloody door, however bitter that tasted on his tongue.

Fretting, forcing himself onwards, he almost slipped on the narrow steps, hand on the wall to feel himself forward, to provide extra grip against the slithery stairs. The air was all-engulfingly hot and humid, hard to breathe, water standing on each step, running down over them at the sides, dripping, leaking in through gaps in the broken wall. In the feeble cone of the torch, the stairs glittered hostilely back, the walls in numb grey, almost nothing visible. He should have run away like every other incapable punk, but still everything inside him screamed to just turn around and help the others. As much as he tried to argument the thoughts away, they prayed upon him with every further step. They all wanted to escape. They should all be fighting for this escape.

But that would not do. Even if each step was more difficult than the one before. He had never felt as guilty before as heading down this narrow stairway while above him, Tseng and Tifa were likely to be killed. He knew he would have been little help to them. He knew Tifa counted on him to secure the escape. He knew he was the only one who could open that door at the other end of the tunnel. He knew that only an open door might grant them the few seconds Tifa and Tseng would need to get away alive. He knew that he was doing exactly what he should have been doing, what every instinct should have told him to do. What he had been taught to do in case of emergency ever since childhood.

Still. If it had not been for that bloody door and his promise to Tseng never to be reckless again – he would have turned on his heel and run back. Even so he hated himself for every step he took downwards. For doing what was smart. For being so bloody frightened for the others up there.

He did not want them to get killed. Not for saving him. Not without him.

The air was turning hotter and stuffier and even more humid as he stumbled on. Sometimes, the wall was so hot under his hand that he almost could not touch it. Water was seeping in through multiple cracks in the walls, the smell of smoke was heavy on his tongue and he was already sweating. Through the running water, he could not hear steps behind him, hoped, no voices. Hoped so much Tseng and Tifa had slipped in directly behind him. That he was too fast for them to catch up. Were they not overdue already?

Why was Tifa even fighting for his life? She could have left with Cloud, it would have been rational to leave. Surely, that would have been what he would have done if he had been in her situation. Called Tseng, his Turks, wish everybody a pleasant day and left.

His mind was spinning with all the circles in which the staircase led down, he did not know how long he had already been stumbling through the heavy darkness when suddenly, just as he tried to catch a breath in that oppressive, hot air – at yet another wall that was too hot to touch – when the roar of another explosion reached his ears, so loud this time the it almost deafened him, the blast wave almost knocking him over when it came howling down. The entire staircase quaked, the smell of sulphur and fire intensified, he coughed, fell against the hot wall, debris hammering down all around him, knocking against his head, his shoulders, onto the stairs, splintering, leaving eerie silence.

He clung to the hot wall, listened, heard nothing through the rushing water, knew perfectly well he should not call, almost called anyway, only to get too much smoke into his lungs, be stopped by a violent cough. His heart was cramping with fear, he listened into the dark for a noise, any noise.

Had the explosion been directed at Tifa and Tseng? They could not been hurt, surely, they could not! But there was nothing to be hurt, no steps running down, just the rushing of the bloody water. Surely, if they had escaped, they would call, would they not? Perhaps they would not, perhaps, they were running - fleeing - from pursuing terrorists.

He motioned to turn.

It would be silly to run upstair now. Either Tseng and Tifa were not subject to the explosion and if they were – if they had died – he could not help them anyway anymore.

He forced himself further forward, down, down, down into that black hell, quicker than before. That door needed to be open! Despite the heat, he felt himself shivering, listened painfully behind him. Should he not be hearing them? The rushing of the water was too loud. He felt almost sick with fear.

What if they were hurt badly?

Tifa had faced Sephiroth and if Tseng had trained for one thing, it was situations like this. Rufus went on, pushing himself further downwards, worry biting into his stomach. If Tseng and Tifa were responsible for that blast, they certainly would be in tremendous a hurry. But as the world had turned out ever since – with Meteor, he doubted very much that their skills would be very helpful to his friends against at least three New Geostigma patients.

He tried to tell himself that they were all right, that there was no reason for that bloody, painful anxiety. Before, the heroes had survived. Now – who knew who survived now? Or who was a hero? The heroes had been terrorists last time, too.

The idea cramped his heart. He did not know what he would do if they did not survive. If he was the only one to walk out of this building. How he would explain to Elena that Tseng was not going to come? How could he justify that he had gotten Tseng and Tifa killed? He tried to convince himself that Tifa would not be that bad. However much he loved her, it would be much easier to get over her if she was dead. She would not ever be much more than a friend anyway. And while he had much use for friends like her, being just friends with her did not agree very well with his own feelings. `Just friends' was insane in that context. Even the thought of it was so insanely painful. After all he knew that rarely ended well. And yet, thinking about her with that materia peppered glove, with that look in her eyes, her eyes at all, the kindness with which she spoke to him, how she looked at him - as much as he tried to muster it, he did not want to lose her. And Tseng was just and simply indispensable, too agonising to think about. Tseng he did not want to lose for anything in this world.

The air, the thoughts, made him sick. Hot, stuffy, humid, each breath like a gulp. The walls were almost burning hot here and the darkness so profound and oppressing that the torch light was almost swallowed by it, nothing to see but endless wet steps and pitch black darkness. It seemed to get darker, darker and darker and the corridor, like in an nightmarish dream, did not seem willing to end and it was so painful, hurt so much to think that Tseng or Tifa could be hurt already or would be hurt if he was not quick enough.

Then, suddenly, in the feeble light of the torch, just around yet another bent, at his feet a black, billowing mirror surged, stretching into the darkness. He stopped dead in his steps, almost fell over with his own momentum, felt the breath heavy on his lips, the air sickeningly solid. Water was streamed around his boots down into the billowing lake that licked darkly up the stairs. He lifted the torch higher, the cone darting dully over the oily, black fluid, until it hit the greyish black wall at the other end where the inky lake was lazily sloshing against a massive door with a single handle. Below that a tiny wheel, shadowed by cracked painted. The wheel for the code.

Rufus closed his eyes for a heartbeat, drew the light cone back. The water at his feet was pitch black, threateningly sluggish, its billowing a faint murmur against the dripping of its supply. He breathed in the stale air, felt himself sweating, tried to ignore the agonising thoughts about Tifa and Tseng, sucking in the vile smell of that brew, air almost tropical here, barely satisfying the need for oxygen. He followed the steps into the ugly, warm water, sucking to his skin, hurried, for, certainly, Tifa and Tseng were alive and they _would_ be in a hurry when they came. With that explosion.

Even as he moved forward, he could see that the water was rising along the walls. The smell in the air made him almost sick, water up his calves when he reached the door, like warm, dark venom. Wherever Tifa and Tseng were, they would not take long anymore. There was no cover in this room, no cover but the vile water. He was sweating, reached out for the rusty wheel. The small digits on it were barely recognisable in the faint isle of light through all the rust. He took the torch between his teeth, felt the water climbing up his calves, foul, stinking, vicious, felt it climbing even as he tried to turn the wheel, uncomfortably warm, the air heavier with each breath. Were there sounds up the stairs – or nothing but the rushing water?

His hand closed around the wheel, he tried to turn it. It would not turn. He felt sweat on his forehead. It would not do, he had to open the door before anyone came. Sounds through the rushing?

He leaned against the door, tried to force the wheel, applied what little strength he could to that tiny wheel. It gnawed, gnashed, the strain hurting in his arm before it finally moved with a dry and guttural ´click' to the next digit. He started forcing it, the light reflecting back from the water, the suspended particles, rising bubbles of air in the brew, the sprained paint wet and silky against his cheek like a snail's handshake. He was the best target imaginable with his back to the stairway, so easy to shoot. The wheel moved slowly, against his strain, too slowly. He felt dizzy, too hot, the sluggish water was pressing his trouser against his calves, promising to make him too slow to turn if people arrived to shoot him. They would also need the time to close the door behind them, so others could not follow. He needed to hurry. The first digit. The day of his birth. The digits were barely readable, eaten away by rust and time. The month of his birth, the water reflecting back so he could barely make out the numbers. The century. He tried not to listen behind him into the darkness, tried to listen to the ticking the wheel made as he turned it. The air around him seemed to worsen with every second, was like a wet towel pressed to mouth and noise. The rushing seemed to be getting less and every breath more difficult. The silence was oppressive or were there voices up the shaft?

He force the wheel to the year – it came easier now, gnawing. It gave a dry click. Just a dry click, nothing else. The door did not move a millimetre. He did not comprehend, stared at the door, pulled the handle.

Nothing.

He gulped the air, felt panic in his stomach, his heart rate accelerating. It had been his birth date in Midgar tower. It had been his birth date! The water, half way up to his knees, was suddenly cold.

The rushing had stopped behind him. There was just a trickle - dead silence apart from that. No steps. Would Tseng and Tifa be that quiet? He listened into the dark for steps. Any steps. Heard just the water sloshing against the door, brushed his wet hair aside, knew that he was breathing too quickly, tried to concentrate, was sick with fear, felt the panic hammering inside. If he had not opened the door when Tifa and Tseng came – if they were followed?! They were dead meat here. Everyone that came down this stairs shoot them straight against the wall. He felt sick. He had to open the door. Had to!

The ugly `L', half erased by time, sneered back at him from the top of the wheel.

The water was sloshing against his upper calves, now the only sound. He felt his hand grasping around the wheel. Maybe the other way around? First year, then month, then day? They were too exposed here, no way they would be able to spare a second!

The wheel moved heavily now, each click that resounded from the walls drove a shiver down his spine. He hurried, forced the year in quickly, hurried to turn in the other digits, knew that with every second someone had to come. They were overdue already. They were stone dead if he could not open this door. Tifa and Tseng had trusted him to open it!

The wheel was still difficult to turn, he forced the digits in, as quickly as possible, was sure he heard something moan inside the door when the century slipped in, moaning echoing through the empty room, not sure with the other digits, the day at last.

Nothing.

Nothing at all.

Panic. He could not see anything anymore, felt just panic inside him. Not his birth date. Not – why not?! How could it not be?!

He flipped in the date of his mothers death, the water icy around his knees, his breath, the dry click the only noise in the silence, torch almost slipping between his teeth, his sweaty fingers almost skidding from the wheel, panic clenching his stomach. The humidly hot air was forcing sweat onto his forehead, his trousers, the shirt sticking warm to his body like a second skin while the rest of his clothes hung heavy and wet around him. Tifa and Tseng had trusted him to secure the escape! He had to get them out of here! Not the bloody death date of his mother! He was panicking even more, could barely breathe the air, was hiccuping. He had to get them out of here! Had to!

The wheel was dancing in front of his eyes, almost impossible to see the digits with the rushing panic. Not his father's birth date! He could not see, was shivering despite the heat. He had to get them out! They were dead if he did not! They were relying on him, had sent him to go first for nothing but this! Not the founding date of Shin-Ra. He did not know what to do anymore, his breath chopped. Had he made a mistake?! He must have made a mistake! His head was against the door, against the chipping paint, could see almost nothing through the tears, tried his birth date again. Nothing, nothing at all. Tried it again. It did not work. The torch almost slipped his teeth, he could not read the numbers anymore. The door would not open. He leaned against the massive steal, could not see anything anymore, had no ideas anymore.

Had just failed.

It was hot, so hot in the room.

_Lazard_.

He tried again, tried Lazard's birth date, shivering, his breath choking with the tears, let himself sink down against the door.

Nothing.

* * *

_I hope you enjoyed._

_It might take a while till I post the next chapter. At the moment, I'm profoundly dissatisfied with what I've constructed so far, so, it'll need some thinking. Next chapter (hopefully): What is happening to Elena and Tifa's view of the events._

_Please review._


	62. Rescue

_Hi, I'm sorry I took incredibly long this time. I already had the chapter almost finished two weeks ago, then life happened. Not the nice kind of life, though._

_Thank you very much for your reviews! It's always cheering me up!  
_

_**Takeo-kun: **Presently, I'm not planning on a sequel; I lack the life experience to be writing what would happen in that part. Also, I'm not planning to write a spin-off, since, honestly, I'm not much interested in the other characters. Besides, I'm constructing an original fiction which will need some time. So, if there'll be a sequel, it might take a few years._

_**BaneWillRise:** Thank you very much! I agree completely; there's too much between Rufus and Tifa to be in love/lust after just a few chapters._

_**Kadajclone100: **Yes, Reeve will definitely hate it if Rufus proves him wrong. He'll hate almost anything to do with Rufus as long as it doesn't include 'Rufus' as subject and 'deceased' as verb. I hope I can include your ideas ;-)_

_**Yakone: **True. Reeve is sometimes too good for his own good._

_Please enjoy._

* * *

Chapter 62: Elena and Tifa: Rescue

_2. May, Wednesday, Noon_

"Now!" Tifa snapped, grasped Rufus's elbow and pushed him forward. "Get in!"

Much to her surprise, Rufus did not protested. Maybe, he knew that he would not be much use fighting. She reached out for the hole to propel herself after him, but simultaneously, the door cracked and with another explosion splinters flew into every direction. Tifa clenched her fists, knew they had no time to follow Rufus, hoped he would hurry to open the door at the other end of that escape route instead of getting heroic ideas. Hoped he was safe.

The door crumbled, behind it, shadows were moving, Tifa lifted her materia-equipped gloves, readied herself. At the same time, Tseng started shooting. Tifa propelled herself to the side behind another table, started running along the wall towards the door. Out of the edge of her eye she saw Tseng firing a second time as the door burst open. One of the men fell, the other three drove around to Tseng. The floor vibrated, splitting, debris and plaster falling from the ceiling, the second man launched himself forward, directly into Tseng's direction and simultaneously, Tifa jumped, her feet caught the second man on his chest, knocked him over, impact crashing through her body, the man seemed unused to close combat, did not recover before Tifa turned behind him, anticipated his falling body and smashed him backwards against a table. She heard Tseng firing again, something hot passed closed by her head, she felt reminded of Rufus, reached the moaning man. Judging by the angle in which he was lying his spine was broken, his sword too far away to be of any use to him. She hated it if they could not defend themselves and she had to kill them. But even before she reached him, she saw movement, saw how the last of the four suddenly shot up behind a table, right behind Tseng's back if Tseng reappeared to fire at the pyrokinetic again. Tifa turned on her heel, ran into that fourth terrorist's direction, she saw her immediately, gun still pointed in Tseng's direction. Just in the last moment, Tifa dodged a spell jetting at her, it crashed against the table behind her. She heard Tseng's pistol firing, shouted something – anything – towards the woman, saw the her turning as she pulled the trigger and released her own fire-spell, hitting the woman straight on. Tifa drove around for Tseng again, to see if he was alright, asked herself why on Gaia she had chosen flame materia again. She really did not like the smell and the screams.

The room was silent apart from the noises of the rushing water.

Just before she reached Tseng, she noticed motion behind her, back at the entrance, heard new shouts through the rushing water and turned on her heel. The man whose spine she had broken was still moaning on the floor, but even as Tifa turned to cast an ice spell at the door, she noticed that the sickening position in which she had left the man had changed. That it was almost fixed again. He was healing himself, reaching out for the sword already. Tseng's pistol crashed again, her spell caught a movement at the door, she would have liked to use electricity, but with the water everywhere, it would have killed her, too.

"Tifa!" Tseng's voice crossed through the rain, thank Gaia with no pain in it. No motion in the room anymore, but how long could the man take until his spine was mended? How long would the others need to reach the door? They did not have time to bother. If they wanted to leave – now was their chance. Before even more came. If they sealed the desk behind them, their pursuers would hopefully only find the exit after they had made a neat get away.

Thank Gaia Tseng had already climbed into hatch when she arrived. She slipped through, dropped into the dark, heard water rushing away, felt it below her feet, the strange moist heat that was rising up through from the darkness of the passage. She hoped Rufus was alright. That he had not slipped on these steep and slippery stairs. She reached out to close the hatch behind them.

"Leave it," Tseng pointed a flashlight. "Move down quickly."

In the faint light she saw the package of explosives Tseng had fixed to the wall, wanted to protest that this might kill them as well, heard shouts, took the torch without another comment, hurried to get down the steep, winded passage, hoping so much that Rufus was safe. That Tseng knew what he was doing. He was a Turk. He _had_ to know what he was doing - did he not? Within moments, she heard his steps behind her, accelerated her own even more to as fast as possible on the wet stairs, did not want to be close to Tseng's explosion. But the rushing water on the stairs and the pitch black darkness made it almost impossible to get forward at any pace. The gurgling of the water was omnipresent now, she could not even hear Tseng's steps behind her, hoped that Rufus had not slipped, that he was out already, with Elena, maybe not even waiting for them anymore. That Tseng's bomb would not kill them all. For if it did not work – if only one of the terrorists followed them into this staircase, she knew they would be dead. However badly the terrorists had proved to be trained, however quickly they would react, this staircase was just too narrow to escape a spell.

Then, suddenly, over the running water, she heard a muffled, indistinguishable call from upstairs, did not even bother to try and understand, but pressed herself against the wall, covering her head with her arms before almost simultaneously, the roar of the explosion overtook her, louder than anything she had ever heard. The blast wave followed immediately, almost swept her off her feet, the heat was breathtaking, the building shook and quaked stronger than ever before, so violently that it flung her painfully to the ground. Parts of the wall, the ceiling, debris were raining down around her, everything filled with dust and the insane echo of the roaring explosion, the moist and stuffy air full of dust and particles. The water flow around her feet seemed to increase even more and almost concurrently, she saw a faint light and then, Tseng came staggering around the corner, a bloody handkerchief pressed against his temple. His left arm looked as if it had sacked considerably lower than the other, hanging loosely and not in an angle that looked as if it had been designed to hang in.

"Everything alright?" Tifa shouted against her own deafened hearing.

"Just a cut," Tseng shouted back and the reply was almost a whisper in her ears.

"And your arm?"

"Dislocated. I should be more thankful to Rufus; this one doesn't let bullets through."

Tifa gulped, nodded, surprised by so many words. "Let's go. Rufus will be waiting. Elena, too, I'd think."

Tseng nodded. "She'll be there with a helicopter."

Tifa's ears were too numb to ask on. Tseng and Elena had to have planned this escape most carefully which made her wonder if they had known that it would come as bad as this or if this was just Turk-ish accuracy at its best. It was pitch black around them and with the numbed ears, she needed the walls to guide her forward, despite of the meagre cones of both flash lights. She hoped the children were all right. They still had to be on their way to Edge now, but at least, they were safe. Reeve would take good care of them once they had arrived, if he had time. She supposed he would; he always managed to find some time for the children.

Hopefully, Rufus was all right, too. She would have liked to pick him up in Tseng's stead. He must have taken the fall of his company badly. She had been actually surprised that he had been so willing to get away, that he had not even protested. Would have almost supposed he would refuse to leave. Even if Rufus had gotten up every single time so far, there was only so much anyone could take. At some point, the end of the rope was just reached. And then? She had seen how much they had worked over the last few weeks, how furiously. Half a year ago, she would have still thought that Rufus just had Shin-Ra for the money. Not because he actually cared. She had never thought something like a company could be that important to anyone. That worth fighting for. It had seemed impossible that people who had that much money would fight so much for anything. She had not believed it of Rufus of all. And in between, he had still taken time to talk to her. Maybe, she thought, her feelings were indeed somewhere close to love, even if they were so much different from what she had felt for Cloud. Otherwise, surely, she would not be thinking so much of him, hoping so much that he was unhurt. Being as worried sick as she was. She wanted to be with him so much, wanted to tell him that everything would be all right. Wanted to talk to him again, tell him that _Sulfur_ was really not that much different from Shin-Ra, that he, that his company would recover, because there was no way he could lose.

Not after all he had invested.

That just would not be fair.

He would probably ask her now since when the world was fair and maybe, he was right questioning that. Sometimes, she asked herself if his way of thinking was not much closer to reality than hers. But when he looked at her, rarely, she could almost see the same question in his eyes. As if he was doubting his own view of the world, too.

Everything had changed so much. So many rules that had applied before Meteor were not true anymore. Neither for her nor for him. She did not know what had become of this world, what would happen from now on. If the new image that was forming in her head was even close to right or just as twisted as Rufus's view sometimes seemed to be. Or as twisted as her own view of the world now seemed to have been before Meteor.

Sometimes, she thought Rufus and his Turks had adapted much better to this new world than she or Cloud or maybe even Reeve had. Most times, she doubted that the world was truly as bad as Rufus painted it. After all, people did not think only about themselves. Not always.

She had never discussed the universe with Cloud before. Things had been so simple before Meteor. They had all had the same views. And most of all, they had all been right.

Now – what was right? Certainly not the New Geostigma terrorists who killed hundreds of innocents during their attacks. Shin-Ra? Could Shin-Ra even be right with all their tricks they were playing? WRO? Anyone?

Not even love was as certain anymore as it had been before Meteor. Those tender feelings inside her, those rushes of hammering heart when she thought of Rufus, saw him suddenly entering, certainly, that was love. But Cloud had been her hero. Cloud had been perfect, she had thought everything perfect about him. Rufus, she saw much differentiated. There were so many things wrong with him, so many things not perfect, so many things she would have wanted to alter. What kind of love was that, in which you saw so many faults about someone? She could not think that it was love at all.

Where was the music? Where was the sky high bliss?

Nobody had disagreed that often with her. Nobody had ever made her think so much about the world. Nobody had ever remarked that for a slum dweller, she was actually very smart and meant it as a compliment.

There had never been anybody before who could question her world by a mere word. Rufus – it interested her that he seemed as interested in her views as she was in his. As wrong as they both believed the other to be.

The children adored Rufus and his band of Turks even though Rufus - although he seemed to like the children - appeared to be completely incapable of showing that in any other way than trying to teach them about something (usually of rather dubious character). It was one of the faults she liked.

He had so many faults, she did not even know where to begin with. Even if some made him rather amiable. Loved the way he tried to read to the children and failed completely to engage their attention. If someone had told her a year ago that Rufus or one of his Turks would read them stories in the evening, she would have certainly presumed that person to be the most insane character she had ever met. And yet, they were.

She really liked Rufus. Not only his mind. The way he moved. His skin that was way too pale. She supposed the he would get a most horrible sunburn if he ever went outside. That suit that always looked just perfect on his. That he always looked as if he spent hours without end with his appearance. The tiredness that was so obvious in his face now. She just love the edges of his shoulder blades that were showing below the vest when he was not wearing his jacket. That he had still looked that absurdly well dressed when he and Tseng had come into the office, soaked to the bone.

Maybe, it was not the worst thing to be much aware of the other's faults; there would not be such a painful awakening once illusions ceased.

It would, probably, be easier to make compromises if you were aware from start on that they would have to be made. He seemed to be ready to make them, even if he was fighting tooth and nail. She was ready to make them.

Because of Love – she did not think so. She just wanted him.

And maybe, there was even a chance of happiness.

The lights in front of her feet on the dark and wet stairs were barely enough to see in, the silence oppressive, only broken by the monotony of the running water and their hastening steps. She had tried to listen behind them, but through the running and dripping water, nothing was to be heard. Yet, the uniformity of sound weighed heavily on her shoulder, heavier even by Tseng's dark brooding.

"They weren't very well trained," she tried in a low voice, hoping to break the silence. But her voice sounded uncomfortably hollow and loud in the narrow passage.

"No," Tseng replied after a moment, his dark voice flattened eerily by the dripping gurgling around them. "Thank Gaia they weren't. But you can't make much of a soldier out of a civilian within a few weeks. Especially if they think they are invincible."

Tifa did not reply for several moments, the heat threatening its way through the concrete under her hand. The air was becoming absurdly hot, worse with every step. As if someone was determined to burn them.

"Do you think they think themselves invincible?"

Barely visible in the feeble light, Tseng's dark shadow made an evasive movement. "They are attacking us head on through the kitchen. You have to think yourself invincible to do that. With their objective, I would have sneaked in."

Tifa fell silent. In Avalanche, they had never thought themselves invincible, she thought. Had run away from time to time, too. Well, sometimes. Had they been as crazy as those patients? No, she thought. If they had decided to attack Shin-Ra head quarter, no one of the Turks would have been able to shoot them down as easily as Tseng had done with at least of two of the terrorists. They would have acted more like a team and most of all, they would have been prepared for close combat. They would have sneaked as far as possible, not burned and bombed their way through the head quarter. Maybe, Tseng was right and they thought themselves invincible.

In face of that, it came almost as a shock that they were not as well trained or even as dangerous as she had thought. But she knew well enough that `not as dangerous' did not mean `not dangerous'. Not at all. Those people had blown up the harbour, infiltrated Shin-Ra and were just blowing the head quarter into pieces. They had not been stopped by any line of defence Shin-Ra had put up against them. They were certainly not `not dangerous'. Only `not invincible'.

Tseng was to commend on his plan to get them out that quickly and that efficiently. At least, the children were out of danger. They still had to be on their way to Edge, securely pouting in the helicopter next to Rude. Rude would take good care of them. Reeve would take good care of them, too, once they arrived.

She thought about Rufus again who by now was most likely waiting with Elena. Would maybe even smirk when they returned. Thought at how back in her simple room in Nibelheim, when she had practised her piano, she had thought about the richest boy in the world and envied him. But she felt not connection between the boy from those memories, the youth who had either rarely appeared in any magazines or she had just not had enough of them – and the man that had tried to have her executed. Who had almost no connection to her, well, friend by now. The sad thing was that she even understood by now why his order of execution had made sense. She had been nothing to him, then. Just a terrorist who had caused enough harm to be executed, anyway. She had just come in handy. He had not even looked at her when he had given the order, had not seen her as a human. The idea of it gave her an ugly twist in her stomach. But the funny thing was that she had not seen a human in him, either. Which made it so difficult now to draw the connection between him now and him back then. But also so much easier to forgive.

Would people think the same about her, those who knew her?

How many people had they harmed without looking at them? She had rejoiced when she had heard that Shin-Ra tower had been hit by a weapon and Rufus Shinra was presumed dead. She still remembered telling Cloud that she was sorry that they had not had the chance to finish Rufus off. She had meant it back then and it made her shudder so much now. That was certainly one of the things she would never tell Rufus. Although she was not sure he did not know. Or would even care. Probably not. Still.

"It'll keep them," Tseng suddenly said into the hot and heavy air, sticking to the inside of her throat.

"What?"

The running of the water had stopped maybe seconds, maybe minutes ago and left an eerie darkness full of waiting. Their own voices were sounding hollow in the narrow, winded staircase, heat chocking breath and sliding around her skin. As if they were walking down the throat of a huge snake. At least, at the end of the tunnel, there would be spring again.

"The entrance I collapsed. It will keep them long enough. First, they'll have to figure out where we went. By then, Rufus and we will be back in Surna already. And even if it takes longer, they'll have to dig their way through. So, don't worry."

"You really planned this through, didn't you?" Tifa asked quietly. She had not liked Tseng well after the threat he had spoken against her, had asked herself repeatedly why Rufus was so good friends with a man who rarely said anything and had a face as unmoved as a china doll. She did not even understand how Elena could be as madly in love with him as she was.

"That's my job. I feel responsible for Rufus."

She was not sure if Tseng added the last sentence specially for her. He must have noticed that she was trying to spent more time with Rufus and maybe, that was why he had not wanted her to pick him up from his office. She doubted he had repeated to him what she had told him to say to Rufus. She asked herself if Rufus was even still in love with her. He had been polite but... she tore her thoughts loose from that direction. Just because she was starving for touch. He was not treating her differently than anyone else. Maybe, love with him was a more mercurial matter in any case. Not deep. Not profound. She did not know how much he actually felt. How he would actually react to skin contact.

Suddenly, Tseng stopped. "We're close to the end, I think," he said.

"I can't smell fresh air." Indeed, the air was worse here. Mixed with stench. Humid like inside a dead man's casket.

Tseng did not reply. When he raised his voice again a few moments later, he called a few words in what Tifa recognised as Wutain, adding both their names, before he set into motion again. The light of their torches fell around the corner onto the pitch black surface of water into which the stairs disappeared. Pointed straight at them was the muzzle of Rufus' gun. He had sunken down against a red, old door, elbow on his knee, gun pointing straight at them. He looked exhausted, eyes red, clothes half soaking, mouth narrowed into tired stubbornness that told Tifa however he exhausted he was, however close he was to black despair, he was going to pull the trigger on who ever turned out not to be Tseng.

"You've made it." He lowered his arm, dropped the pistol into the water, got up in the same movement. There was tired scorn in his voice.

"Of course we have," Tseng replied, his left arm dangling uselessly against his side. He crossed into the shallow water, the light of the torches dancing eerily over the black water, the naked concrete walls and against the red door.

"You've made it, I'm so glad!" suddenly, Rufus embraced Tseng, both arms around the Turk as if he never wanted to let go again, and Tseng replied with his right arm.

"Of course we made it, Rufus," Tseng repeated, his left arm more lifeless than ever before. Still, Tifa could see how he had wrapped the other arm tight around his friend and felt a profound stab of jealousy, almost overrun by the strong feeling of being left out. That _she_} wanted to be the one who assured Rufus that they - everything was alright.

"We've collapsed the corridor behind us," Tseng informed him, letting go after what seemed far too long to Tifa.

Rufus nodded and Tifa still felt so very jealous, so very awkward being just nodded to. "That's good." He ran a hand through his hair. He looked - exhausted. Finished. It made her even more wanting to hold him close, reassuring him that everything would be all right. But Rufus made a short, sweeping gesture, stating flatly: "Well, have a seat. I don't know the password." He pointed at the door behind him. He was laughing, but he did not look much like laughing. Indeed, he only looked completely lost. Even as he was laughing, he seemed closer to crying and it gave Tifa another stab, right through her ribcage. She moved closer, reached out, put her hand onto his shoulder, felt the sharp bones below the cloth. "Tseng said the Turks are coming from the other side. I'm sure they'll find a way to open the entrance!"

"Actually," Tseng said, seating himself a few steps upwards the stairs, "the door can't be seen from the outside."

Rufus nodded, looked almost mechanical in that movement. "Would have been a bad secret passage if it could be." He dropped down on the stairs, too.

Tifa sat down next to them. The air was thick, solid as a wall, barely breathable, humid like freshly fished algae pushed to the face. "Then, we'll just have to wait till someone arrives from upstairs."

"I sealed things pretty tightly," Tseng returned darkly.

"Suffocation is supposed to be a rather pleasant death." Rufus leaned against the wall, closing his eyes.

"Did you try something else but your birth date?"

Rufus sneered, opened his eyes again, looking everywhere but at them. "I even tried _Lazard_'s birth date."

Tifa did not like the note of despair in his voice. She realised that she had already lifted her arm to reach out for him, to put it over his shoulders, wherever - just reassure. He sounded so much as if he was blaming himself for not knowing the password, sounded so much as if he was despairing and she just could not stand it, could not stand the idea that he whom she had relied on to get up every single time would despair. His hair was hanging into his face - much shorter now, her movement had caught his attention, he was looking at her. Just looking, eyes directly into hers. Red rimmed, tired, wet hair in front of them. With just that look, her heart started beating, feeling so warm, so cold for him. She just wanted to push that hair out of his face again, feel his skin. There was no hope, no nothing in his eyes. He had picked himself up every single time, after Meteor, after Deepground, after Geostigma and Kadaj, after the riot. He had always laughed, just squared his shoulders, come up with another plan, come up with another aim, new strength. Now, there was nothing and it pained her so much that she just wanted to hug him and tell him that everything would be all right. He had done everything, everything in the world to keep Shin-Ra afloat. Tifa had seen many people fighting in her lifetime but she had never seen anyone fight the way he had. For four years, maybe even more, against setback after setback, defeat after defeat. Rufus had gotten up every single time again.

And now, nothing. Not a single spark in his eyes, dark eyelashes sticking together. Not even apprehension.

He blinked, eyes closing. A single drop of water ran down his forehead, glittering in the faint light and the air was so heavy to breathe. The drop rolled passed his eyebrow, down one side his rather too pointed noise and when he opened his eyes again, it continued over his darkened tear duct as he raised the hand to wipe it away. Even in the faint light, he had dark patches under his eyes, his cheeks were hollow, lips almost as pale as his skin when they twisted into a sneer and she realised that she had relied on him getting up again even this time.

His eyes were almost grey in this light, dead almost, the light harsh on his skin, hair clinging to his forehead, half covering the scar of a laceration. - The eyelashes were dark against the almost white skin. He turned his head away, last spark dying away.

"We'll be alright," she said. She carefully put her hand onto his shoulder, close enough to his neck to brush over it with her thumb. His skin was cold. She wondered if his lips would be, too.

Rufus's eyes darted back into her direction, glittering, lips suddenly thin. "I wonder."

"Don't worry." Tseng switched off his torch. "Elena has my phone number. They'll find us."

"Under all this concrete?" His voice almost disdainful.

"Under all this concrete," Tifa nodded and hesitated for the tiniest moment before she slipped her arm around his shoulders, pulling him closer, squeezing his shoulders and hoped it was encouraging, her own heart beating marathon at this action. Rufus went rigid, muscles strained as if he was about to tear himself away. The air seemed to get hotter and more unbreathable with every breath they took. She was feeling quite dizzy already, feared that she had gone too far, but after a moment, Rufus relaxed a little against her. He seemed cold despite the heat and their breaths in the darkness were shallow already and after a while, she felt Rufus's hand slipping onto the one she had put onto his shoulder, thumb on her wrist. Maybe, he had been right. Maybe the fires in the building would suck the last of the oxygen from this air before someone found them. She was not even angry that Rufus had not found the right combination to that lock. Whoever Lazard was, he sounded like the last resort. And she had known that one day, she would run out of luck. At least, the children were in safety.

\\

The helicopter lowered itself down over the scorched harbour and Elena felt the apprehension clinging deep in her stomach as the pressure rose in her ears. That the helicopter port close to the president's office was missing – just a black smoking hole in the wall now – had been obvious even before the helicopter had started losing altitude. There had not been any news from Surna and although Elena had not expected much differently, it made her sick. She had – was still – so much hoping against all odds that Reno was all right. That he had somehow, somehow escaped that horrible crash. But the smoking, burning colossus of Shin-Ra, Junon, was like a bad omen and deep down inside her she knew she could count herself lucky if they even found Reno's body. She could hear Reno laughing at that inside her head, telling her that a coaled up corpse certainly would not be any use to anyone if he was dead.

Also, Tseng had not called, yet.

Buildings were passing directly below them as the helicopter settle down close to the inconspicuous mouth of a draining pipe. She tried to get a good view of the surrounding area, but the entire area had been covered by green with the spring over the last week and every view was shielded by the green vegetation. She only got a short view of the dried out stream that resulted from the pipeline. Usually, it released a steady stream of water, but when she and Tseng had been there last – searching for the exit to the secret passage – it had been almost dried out already. Now, the hot weather had taken its toll.

Tseng had said it had been a good thing that the exit of the secret passage could not be seen from the outside. They had walked down that narrow drain and ascertained round about the end of the escape passage. But now, as the helicopter lowered itself down between the dried out trees, Elena was not sure anymore it really was there. That they would be there. Tseng had said he most likely would not call and he had not. Still. Elena was dead worried that something – whatever – had gone wrong. That they would not be in time.

That they had not made it.

That Tseng and she had been mistaken about the exit.

That... anything.

And now, Knife was settling the helicopter down and it made her think of Reno.

"We will be in time," Knife ascertained her through the static as the chopper sank and Elena nodded.

A soft rattle went through the machine as it settled in the cloud of dust.

Elena grabbed her gun. "Okay, guys, we'll take up station as briefed!"

A murmur of consent reached her ears as she propelled herself out into the blazing sun onto the dry, scorched ground into a cloud of dust. She blinked against the clear, blue sky, felt the heat on her skin, smelled the smoke that the wind carried this way from the head quarter, the ashes that were dancing on the wind, sinking down around them, onto the green trees, the bushes, the scorched ground, pieces of paper in the air.

Her hand fastened around the handle of her gun as she advanced through the dreary bushes over the split ground, her boots whirling up the dust from the yellow soil. It was baking hot and there was no sign of Tseng or any of the others, no noises but the bellowing roar of a loud explosion from the head quarter. Elena felt her inside tighten with fear. The building was close, the stench filled the air, the sun was filtered through the smoke and the ashes. The building was in flames, fire consuming it quickly, blooming out of the windows. She knew what that meant for Tseng... and Rufus, knew that the terrorists where there, that they were hunting them. She still hoped they had made it to the passage, feared they had not - what if they had not? If they were still in there? - Would Tseng not phone her? He certainly would! ... If he could.

Nothing was moving in the cooking heat of the day. The grass that had still been greening here a few days ago had seared on the ground, the entrance of the pipe between the low bushes was a dark hole of shadows, empty. Of course, Tseng would not have them wait where it was obvious.

Elena nodded at the Turks that would approach the pipe from behind, making sure everything was all right. Behind her, the Turks were taking up their positions under the tress, carefully checking if they were as alone as the view from the helicopter had suggested. They disappeared under the trees, behind the trench, next to the sorry bushes, securing a quick get away.

She reached for her torch, felt her tongue gluing to her palate, hoped that Tseng and the others were already there when she stepped over the loose stones into the trench, between the stones and rocks towards the mouth of the pipe. It was hot, no wind from the sea was reaching this corner, only burned pieces of paper were raining down around them and the dust that they had kicked up with their heavy boots.

"There are fresh footprints here!" One of the Turks announced, pointing at the dust.

Elena smiled, lowered both pistol and torch, felt her heart hammering with relief. They had arrived already, were safe. All they needed to do was pick them up.

"Down!" The shout of another Turk tore the baking air and in the same heartbeat the air was filled with lead, fire opened from the vegetation, men suddenly jumping up. Elena threw herself down, face into the gravel and the dust of the dried out ditch, behind a bush. Bullets whistled over her, she cursed, damning the trees, damning herself for choosing so few people for the Turks team that was to approach the pipeline from the back.

Dust and tiny stones splintered from the ground next to her into her face, she clasped both hands to her pistol, tried to scramble back, heard shots all around her, knew she was completely exposed in the narrow ditch, saw muzzle fire flashing in front of the mouth of the pipe, gravel splintered into her face, she fired back, heard someone groaning in pain next to her, fired again for the muzzle flashes, air filled with the sudden stench of dust, gunpowder, blood and fire.

Her eyes caught a small rock only a meter from her, the form of the Turk next to her, the blood that was threatening its way over the dried out sand, she fired again and again, knew she had to move, that her tiny bush would not shield her for another moment, feared for Tseng and the others who could appear here any moment, heard Knife shouting orders.

Rock chipped next to her, she heard the bullet whistle, saw something moving in the mouth of the pipe, shot again, certain to have hit, pushed herself up in the same moment to get behind the rock, bullets whistled around her. She shot for the muzzle flashes, it was just a jump into cover. She would make it. Her foot caught in the jacket of the Turk on the floor, she saw his blood everywhere, his empty eyes staring up to her, the blue sky above her, the merciless sun, the burning headquarters, the Turks that were coming in from the back, were almost standing on top of the aggressors now, about to silence them, Turks behind the bushes firing, the muzzle flashes in reply from the mouth of the pipe, from the scrubs next to it, bodies and then, as she fell behind the rock, the scorching red hot pain in her back. She crashed into the gravel, behind the rock, stars flashing in front of her eyes as she fell first on her shoulder, then with her head against the ground and then onto the other shoulder. She clung to her pistol, even as she felt herself spacing out, the orders, the roaring of shots around her. She felt hot sweat in her face – or was it blood? - saw the deep blue sky above her, just knew that they had to get rid of the other party, heard materia spells flying, smelled nearby fire, burning flesh. They had to stop them! Tseng would be dead otherwise... or maybe, if they had been early, he already was.

She forced herself somehow to stay conscious, found her hand still clinging to her pistol, the fight still roaring around her, blue sky above, fright, pain and anger flaying her apart on the inside. She wanted to push herself onto her stomach to shoot from behind the rock, excruciating pain shooting through her body as she tried to move. She could not see anything of the fight, the rock was in her way, just heard shots, screams of pain, lightning crashing, the pitiful moaning of the poisoned, knew she had to help. She tried to force herself up again, but the pain even at the attempt of moving was so hellish that she almost faded out again.

The sky was still blue, the green leaves of a tree swaying above her. She tasted blood, felt red heat below her, supposed she was wounded. The pain almost made her faint again and she tasted the dust, felt heat below her, around her, almost drifted out again, forced herself to stay alert. Asked herself if she was badly wounded, called herself a ninny not to be moving, felt herself crying out with pain even before she tried again, sand everywhere.

Water was rushing somewhere, far far away or maybe, it was just the wind in the trees, it felt as if the gunshots were fading more and more. Heard calls that demanded to surrender, did not know who was calling, clung to her pistol. If anyone went her way, she could still shoot. The blue sky was fading above her and she could not concentrate on the voices. Gunshots again, then silence.

The ashes from the head quarter were falling like rain.

* * *

_Thank you very much again for reading. Next chapter: Rufus, Tseng: About Death. I hope I'll be able to update quicker this time. I've got the chapter lined out at least._

_Please review._


	63. About Dead

_Thank you very much for reviewing so much again!_

_**BaneWillRise, IceQueen69, kadajclone100:** Thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoyed it. It was one of the hardest chapters to write so far. I would like to leave the characters unscratched... but that would make it less interesting._

_**Kadajclone100: **I like your doubts with situations or characterisations. It makes me question what I've written and paint people much more 3D than otherwise. Especially people who are not the main characters.._

_**Takeo-kun: **Thank you! The next story I am writing will be called 'Placebo'. The tag line will be something along the following lines:_

In a land ruled by magic, Ferrus has none, not even the tiniest spark. Too bad he is the only one his sister Thallia can rely upon when she stumbles into a murderous intrigue and is forced to disappear_. _

_If I'm finished with the first chapter, I'll probably upload it on fictionpress. But I'll provide the link._

_**Yakone:** Tifa probably would turn very boring if she stopped being badass. And, no, things don't look good for anyone, presently. But they could be worse._

_Have fun with the next chapter._

* * *

Chapter 63: Rufus, Tseng: About Dead

_2. May, Wednesday, Afternoon_

Rufus almost jumped when Tifa's arm wrapped itself around his shoulder. The brush of her thumb against his neck, softly, when she had placed her hand onto his shoulder had already unsettled him. He had not known how to react even then. There had been so much warmth in that slight touch, so much he had longed for in just that small soft brush, as if she wanted to tell him that she did not feel too badly about him being responsible if they suffocated in this lousy hole even though he should have been able to open the door. And then, suddenly, if that had not been enough to deal with, she had put her arm around him, just like that.

It had been long since anyone had seriously hugged him, not that carefully, not that softly, not that warmly... as if she really cared for more than telling him that they would be all right. Maybe, she did. Maybe, she did not. He did not care, was too tried to care, just so thankful for the warmth - for that gesture from her. It made him feel so comfortable on the surface. And was so sharp in contrast with the numb inside, with feeling so flayed apart, so eternally hurt from losing Shin-Ra, from failing at the door, from fighting futilely.

Gently, he put his own hand onto hers as if that could stop him from falling. As if clinging to that little bit of warmth could save him from anything.

Tifa nudged him from the side, intensifying her warm embrace and he felt so much like curling up against her, like stopping to care for anything.

It hurt so much inside, burned him inside out.

As if a huge, empty black hole of despair had been punched through his chest right below the collar bones that swallowed everything.

He pressed his thumb against her wrist, closed his eyes and carefully curled closer. Breathed in the residues of her smell, whatever that breath could still satisfy in this deathly air.

She nudged him again, softly. "We'll be all right, Rufus."

Her voice was heavy with the stagnant air, so warm, so careful, so soft and reassuring that he almost believed her. Her breaths were coming so flatly and quickly.

He felt too tired to care, tried to make his universe just Tifa's gentle touch, tried to curl closer and sink into that warm darkness, forget about where they where, what had happened, but just could not stop thinking. The air was so stale, so impossible to breathe, dizziness clawing its way up, weighing down his eyelids. He should have been _able_ to open that bloody door. He just should have known! He felt Tifa's chest heaving laboriously with breathing, heard Tseng gasping for air in the stifling darkness. His own breath almost choked. The dark water was lethargically sloshing against the stairs below them, lulling them in. Elena would never find them in time. It had to be something his father knew his son would try. But with what little oxygen was left in the air it was rather unlikely that he would ever remember it. Even if it was something obvious.

Like the humiliation of his birth date. Why could his imbecilic father not just have used one password for everything?! ... It must have been another date... the `19' had sounded too promising for anything else... why was he incapable of remembering it?!

He himself drifting away, felt his eyes becoming ever so leaden with the heavy, sleepy air, knew that falling asleep meant dying, did not care. If he had to die, then at least so close to Tifa. Her embrace was so careful and soft. Her pulse was throbbing against his thumb. Softly. So warm and gentle that he just wanted to close his eyes and sink into that touch, so warm and comforting. He felt his consciousness slipping with the steady beating of Tifa's heart. They were right; suffocation was not too bad.

Certainly better than being shashlicked.

He felt sorry for the children. And they were not even his. Just because he had to be in love with Tifa... just because, what? ... Consoled him like a child because he despaired? Maybe, his father had been very right to put `loser' on that wheel. But he rather died like this than alone.

He closed his eyes.

Was `S' not the 19th letter in the alphabet?

For a shallow heartbeat, he asked himself if that meant anything. If he should react. Whether it was really worth it or important enough to move away from here. But sleep was coming quickly and he did not want to take his head from Tifa's shoulder, did not want her gentle, warm embrace gone, wanted to continue just sitting here with his own hand on Tifa's scarred warm skin, the tenderness of her thumb that had started stroking rhythmically over the edge of his collar bone, the way her head had leaned against his and he could feel her breathe. He just wanted to fall asleep like this, finally give in. What did he care if the code was maybe `Loser' or even his own name? Why would he care to get up again now and try that out?

But Tseng and Tifa would die here, too.

He stirred. Moving was more difficult than he had thought. He felt Tifa turning against his shoulder, hesitated to move further, still so close to her. Tseng stirred, too. "Something wrong?" His voice was flat, tired.

"Maybe not." He forced himself up, out of Tifa's embrace, took up his torch, felt so lonely without her touch, so tired. Even lonelier when he started moving away. The air was getting worse when he moved towards the door. The water was so ugly warm against his calves and he felt like groping through a dream.

"Rufus?" Tseng's torch flashed into action.

He had reached the door, reached out for that tiny rusty wheel, did not even want to think about this not working, was feeling so dizzy, dizzy enough to cling to the door to maintain balance, knew his breath rate was more than accelerated by now, racing, his chest hurting. It still felt like he was suffocating. Perhaps, it was good news that carbon monoxide was lighter than air. The bad news, however, would then be that carbon dioxide was heavier than oxygen.

Hand closing around the wheel, he tried to focus, his forehead against the moist paint.

Gingerly, he turned the wheel to 12 for _L_, heard it rasping, was not sure if he heard the same definite `click' he had heard for the 19. He tried to concentrate on the numbers as he turned the wheel further, to 15 for _O_. Knew he had to hurry, his legs so weak below him. No breath in the air. The _L_ on the wheel seemed to be dancing in front of his eyes. It had to be right. Wherever Elena was, there was no way she would reach Tseng under all this concrete and they were as good as dead, cooked alive already. He missed Tifa's touch so much already, forced the wheel. 19 for _S_. His breaths were coming shorter and shorter, racing, after each other and were still not enough, his legs threatening to fail him. The wheel looked fuzzy in front of his eyes, he had to cling to the handle for balance. There was no way he would leave Tseng and Tifa to die here. 5 for _E_. If they survived this, he would tell her that he loved her, even if he was so afraid of being pushed away again. Of being told that he was just not _good_ enough for her. 18 for _R_. He forced himself to turn the wheel, the chipped paint rough and warm against his forehead. It was not like he was doing anything but playing to get them out. Neither Tseng nor Tifa had gotten up. He could not feel angry about it; he would not have gotten up, either, if it had been him. He felt so sick, eyes closing now, could not see much and turned the knob.

He clung to the handle, hoped, hoped so much despite himself and leaned against the door. It creaked, painfully, moaned and then, in the same heartbeat, the handle gave way under his grip, slipped down, he lost his balance, clinging to it - pulling at it as some part of his brain realised that it had to be a good thing if the handle had given way, and then, suddenly, the room was filled with a cold breeze, a breeze that engulfed him, flooded his lungs and he felt himself craving for air, rasping, breathing deeper and deeper, found himself leaning against the red door, sucking in the air.

He turned, tiredly propped himself up, felt the triumph surging as he pulled the door further open and life returned to his body. _Loser_. How could he have been so narrow minded to overlook that password?

"Let's not keep Elena waiting," he nodded at the door and tried to grin, looking at Tifa and Tseng who had both looked up - jumped up in Tseng's case. Rufus straightened his back, breathing in the reviving air, just so relieved and thankful that he had managed to open the door after all, that Tifa and Tseng were not dying, and asked himself why Tseng's hand was suddenly going for his weapon, why Tifa was darting up in alarm, staring. Certainly not the reaction Elena should have triggered in both of them.

Simultaneously, just as he was about to turn around himself, hands wrapped around his right arm, tore it backwards, upwards, he stumbled, the pain of the twist so sudden and excruciating that he yelped in shock.

A weapon hammered hard against his skull. So hard, that for a moment, he saw nothing but stars, pain drilling through his head. In the next second, he found the weapon firmly pressed against his temple, and the voice that shouted into his ear almost deafen him: "Surrender or he's dead!"

Icicles hammered into the stair, Tifa just being able to duck away. The pressure of the gun against his head got stronger, the woman held him professionally, no way for him to kick back, to shift balance, to trample on any feet, just the pain of his torn up arm and the weapon against his skull. Tseng was looking straight at him, had not lowered his weapon, yet. But whoever was holding him was most likely holding him in such a way that Tseng had not dared to shoot for fear of injuring him. Most likely, there were also other New Geostigma warriors behind him.

"You, too, Turk! At once!" The muzzle of the pistole lost contact with his skull, darting at the others.

Tseng's eyebrow quirked questioningly.

Rufus nodded his eyes, sure that whatever Tseng was about to do was a good idea, and a heartbeat later, Tseng's pistol flashed and time began to blur. The noise of the shot recoiled deafeningly from the walls, numbing all senses, smell of powered suddenly everywhere. He did feel his shoulder being hurled backwards, the flash from the abductor's muzzle close to his face blinded him, roar excruciating. He crashed into the woman behind him and fell. Somewhere, there was brutal pain, clawing through his body, as he slammed half onto the woman, half onto the floor, head back so hard that for moments, the world went black. He found himself staring at the ceiling, pain roaring, simultaneously wrenched his arm free as trained a thousand times, grabbed his weapon from the floor, spun around, Tifa had hurled herself past him, magic flashing, he heard Tseng's shots, the woman next to him with the fist-big hole in her chest was gurgling. He saw the hole closing as if under materia, pulled the trigger on her thrice, two to her heart, one to the head, tore the muzzle upwards, fired into a knee, someone to fell, world blurring around him with pain.

Maybe, he thought, feeling strangely fuzzy as he leaned against the wall next to the door, breathing against the hammering pain that surged through him, supernatural powers did after all not outweigh superior training. He put another bullet into the fallen man's head in front of him, for good measure.

His entire body was aflame with numbing pain, light and room dancing in stars in front of his eyes, he felt still dizzy, cold, nauseated with the pain, his head hitting against concrete behind him.

And then, there was Tseng, propping him against the wall.

"Are you all right?" he asked. He remembered seeing electricity darting into Tseng's direction and it looked very much as if the Turk's arm had come off again; the sleeve was empty. There was blood all over his shirt. Much blood. "Don't worry about your arm. I'll have a new prosthesis made for you as soon as..."

Tseng gave a short nod, Rufus felt his hand against his skin. "I'm all right. Lean back."

"Is everyone dead?" Another wave of pain hit him and suddenly, Tifa was squatting there instead of Tseng, smiling at him. "Don't worry."

He had seen her pick an icicle from her arm before. Her cheekbone seemed to be bleeding from what looked like a graze, the entire half of her face covered in blood.

"Are you all right? Do you have healing materia in your glove? You need to mend..." He thought he was talking too much and tried to move, feeling dizzy, all in pain and very cold.

"I'm all right, don't worry. Relax." He felt her hand on his shoulder, softly urging him down. His other shoulder was burning with white hot fury. He remembered the worryingly large entrance hole in the woman's chest. It had rather looked like a hole from a flattened bullet.

"Rufus. Please. Don't move." Tifa was so close, he felt her calmingly cold hand on his forehead, saw the glow of materia around him, colourful lights everywhere, felt no relief in the pain, no miraculous strength flooding his body, just bright green lights dancing around him and the pain increasing, rocketing sky-high, fogging his vision in red needles. Tifa's face looked so very worried. She was drawing the cork to a potion bottle with her teeth, her other hand gently against his cheek. Her fingers were so warm against his skin, he felt her stroking his hair away, so carefully, so gently. "I'm sorry, materia doesn't work. We'll have to try potion."

He nodded, slightly confused. Potion did not bring as good healing results. But Tseng usually knew what he did, so, even if he had shot him to get the terrorist, it could not be too bad. On the other hand, the hole in the terrorist's chest _had_ looked rather bad. The pain of knitting flesh was agonizing when Tifa poured the potion onto the wound, drilling right through his core, so raging that his vision blurred for eternity, leaving the unholy weak numbness of a potion treatment back, the roaring pain distantly hammering against his skull.

"That's it." Tifa's voice brought him back again. There was so much blood on her face, too. "I don't have any more potions, but Tseng is getting Elena and the other Turks, they'll be here with the medics soon." He felt her hand brushing over his cheek. "You'll be all right in no time."

He tried to nod, felt Tifa's hand stroking his hair aside. She looked so concerned, the gash on her cheekbone was still bleeding. He reached out to wipe the blood away, his hand shaking. Her skin was so warm, so soft under his touch. He smiled at her, so relieved that he had tried to open the door, that he had gotten up and that she was still here. Her hair had partly come loose, wet and clinging to the bloody cheek. He heard voices somewhere outside, was so cold and dizzy and in pain. In that little light, her eyes were black, so comforting and soft, so beautiful. Her hand was so warm in his nape, so reassuring. He tried to move, tried to sit up, the drilling pain in the shoulder too much to move. The voices outside were getting louder, steps following.

"Don't move, you'll tear the wound open again," she said, her other hand gentle on his shoulder.

He felt his hand lying on her face, brushed his thumb over her cheek, rested it gently on her warm lips as the room exploded with steps, the shouts of medics. He could not stop looking at her and felt her looking straight at him, so much warmth in her eyes. Her lips were moving softly against his thumb.

\\

Tseng felt the pistol still shaking in his hand when the last of the six aggressors fell. Rufus had, for some reason, been able to sit up and had just sunken another shot into the last of them. He was as pale as a wall which contrasted strangely with the red blossom that was blooming rapidly on his shoulder. In his shoulder. Which had sagged quite a bit. Tseng assumed that he had broken the collarbone, too.

He still could not believe he had shot Rufus. But in that minute - and even thinking back - there had not seemed to be another solution; the woman had hidden too well behind Rufus and the others behind her. Rufus would have been dead if had acted differently. They, most likely, would have been dead, too. He had thought that that way, he would be able to take the woman out and catch the others by surprise. But he had still been too dizzy from the lack of air, too shaky. Although only five meters, he had missed. Instead of shooting maybe just grazing Rufus's shoulder, the bullet had gone through several centimetres deeper. And the other terrorists had not even been terribly surprised; he had not been able to fire a second shot before he had nearly been hit by a lightning. Dizzy as he had been, the fight had gone badly. One of the terrorists had rammed his knife into his prosthesis and ripped it off, his right had had been almost too poisoned to work the materia. But at least they had all three survived. Barely. His shoulder hurt tremendously. Tifa's face was bleeding, blood running from below the hand she was pressing to her right eye, the Fleming-radiation engulfing her in green shimmer. He had never seen her fighting that viciously before. That intended to _kill_.

Rufus asked him how he did, pale with shock. He replied, turned to Tifa. "See to your eye. Get him to stop moving, take care of his wound. I'll see if... if we can leave." The last sentence almost stuck in his throat for simultaneously as he voiced it it occurred to him that Elena and the Turks should have been here by now. That _they_ should have stopped those people who had tried to kill them just now.

Sick with apprehension, he told himself that Tifa would take good care of Rufus. Whether Tseng liked it or not, she seemed to like Rufus. Enjoy his company. If she dared... he pressed himself against the wall, leaving his arm – useless now – back on the floor. What materia he carried with him had taken care of the wound the arm had left back, but it could not reattach an artificial limb. It could barely staunch the pain that was licking from the metal connection in his shoulder.

He tried not to think about what might be awaiting him as he peaked out into the pipe.

Nothing to the left where the white daylight bloomed, where the water had run. The pipe was absolutely empty, filled only with the smell of wetted stone, blood and powder. The light was bright at the other end of the tunnel, throwing shadows onto the floor. Illuminating the shadow of one of the terrorists Tifa had killed – and another body that was lying next to the door. His shoulder was burning with raging pain. The water had left the smell of wet dust. Not a breath, absolute silence.

He turned carefully, pressing his hand with the pistol to his shoulder, his fingers sticky with blood, recognized the body as he kicked it with his foot, to make sure it was dead. Isolde Fontainebleau. Head looking into the wrong direction. Definitely dead. She had been unarmed.

Tseng wiped the cold sweat of pain from his face, clenched his hand around the pistol, felt nausea inside him, fear. He had never been as frightened in his life as he was now for Elena. He stumbled into the direction of the light, exhaustion hurting in his bones, the pain from the shoulder pumping through his body. Nobody came, nobody was waiting, his steps were echoing from the walls. Prayed, he knew not whom to, that Elena was not as limp, as dead as Isolde, sweat of pain on his face. Painful panic and despair in his stomach. With the strengthening light, he heard voices, many, orders being shouted.

He leaned against the wall, tried to catch his breath under the pain, pressed his fist against the shoulder. It sounded much like Turks. He tried to get his wits together, felt his heart rising, waited till his eyes had adjusted to the light. Till he had recognized voices and was sure that it were their people out there. That it was not a trap.

Then, as he pushed himself towards the exit, he saw Turks moving, recognized men he had picked himself. They were leading other other warriors away, cuffed. The smell of blood was in the air. Tseng did not see Elena, felt his worry raging in his stomach. Where was Elena?

"Tseng of the Turks!" he announced himself as a group of armed Turks came close, stumbled out into the light.

They stopped, did not lower their weapons but at least did not shoot, either. It took a few seconds until they recognized him.

"What happened?" He leaned against the steel again, his eyes searching for Elena. The agony in his shoulder seemed to be increasing with every ongoing minute.

They explained that they had met opposition when they had arrived here. A fierce fight, most of the opponents dead or wounded. Most of the Turks dead or wounded.

Tseng gave an unwilling – a terribly worried – nod, sick inside, his throat tightening with fear. "Get a medic. You'll find a room down this pipe. Make sure you announce yourselves. Pick up the president and Miss Lockheart there. They are both wounded." He was making too many words, hoped that Elena would pass by as she spoke. She did not. She should have. Knowing her, she should have run towards him.

They accepted his orders, one of the Turks took out his mobile. He felt the world spinning, was sweating with excruciating pain. "Where's Elena?" He addressed one of them.

The young woman gave an uneasy shrug. "I – I haven't seen her since we left. But I think they took cover somewhere close to the stream course."

Tseng nodded, voiced a thanks, set into motion, did not even reply when one of them suggested he should wait for a medic, too. He had used materia. It should have been enough. But the pain in his shoulder was incredible as he pushed himself forward, was incredibly numb inside him, thundering through his body. He hoped to see Elena any moment now. Hoped to see her running at him, that worried expression on her face. Turks passed, taking care of other wounded, did not pay him much attention. He dragged himself onwards, followed the course of the river, saw medics kneeling over other wounded, smelled the blood, the ashes on the wind. The water had licked down the course of the river and then, when he was just at the edge of where the trickle had disappeared in the sand, he first saw the body of a Turk and then a knot of medics clustered around a pair of boots, another person.

He stumbled closer, knew he knew the boots, felt dead inside, more fear than he had ever felt in face of any enemy as he saw the renewed Fleming-radiation.

"Elena?" He knew his voice was shaking. Her body was not moving. He did not feel the pain in his shoulder anymore, nothing. Just his stomach falling and falling and falling without end.

One of the doctors got up, was shielding the body from his view. "We are taking care of her."

"Is she alright?" Three medics were not a sign for being all right in general. He could not concentrate anymore. The sun in the sky was dancing.

"We will take care of her. Don't worry. Let me take care of your wound."

Tseng tried to calm himself, knew that he could not just push pass. There was no pain in his shoulder anymore. Nothing, just eternal numbness. "What happened to her?" He croaked, tongue dry in his mouth, fell down on a stone as his legs refused to support him. A doctor started looking him over. If she had time to look at his wounds, Elena could not be in too a bad way. He hoped.

"She was shot," The woman replied, getting out materia.

"I've already treated the wound with materia," he gave back, almost automatically, still tried to look past her. He could not see anything. The pain when she touched the connection made him jump. "Where did she get hit?"

The doctor split the cloth of his shirt, the noise ugly in his ear. Bright spots of pain were dancing in front of his eyes. All he wanted to hear was that Elena just lost a lot of blood, that she would be fine. That they all would be fine.

"Her spine was damaged," the doctor replied, coolly, hit him like no weapon had ever hit him before. The doctor forced him down as he wanted to jump up. "There is nothing you can do about it. We are doing the best we can. She'll be transported to our hospital in Surna. They will be able to tell you more, then. … this doesn't look good, either..."

Tseng did not hear much for what she continued to say. Elena was alive. Alive, thank Gaia! But injuries to the spine where ... bad. Very bad. He could not think beyond that. Elena badly injured. Elena whom he loved so much to hold in his arms – he had hoped once this was over they would go to Costa del Sol. Or, maybe not Costa del Sol but some of those beaches that only Shin-Ra owned. He had hoped for walks with her, along the beach, under a warm sun. Had hoped to hold her hand, to talk to her about a thousand things.

A new wave of pain flooded his consciousness and he was not sure whether it came from his arm or from his inside. He had hoped for so much after this was over – after Shin-Ra was gone and there was just _Sulfur_. He had thought that, maybe, after years and years and years, he had met the woman with whom he wanted to share the rest of his life. And now, he had gotten her so terribly wounded. He did not even know if he would be able to face her anymore after he had done this to her.

In front of his eyes, they had lifted her onto a stretcher and were carrying her away, he did not even know if she was conscious. He knew he had to stay here and make sure that Rufus got to a hospital, that he got into safety, that the last of those terrorists was found and locked away. Instead, he got up, shook his head when the doctor told him to sit down again.

"I'm going to go wherever they're taking her," he said, started walking after them simultaneously. His people had their orders. Rufus had Tifa. For once, for once in this bloody life, he was not going to wait for things to be concluded. Elena – he wanted to be there, to know what could be done. To be there when she woke and try to apologise. To be there – if only she let him – when she had to face the fact that she might never in life be able to walk again.

He did not know that. It was not certain, yet.

Still, he wanted to be the first to know if ever she could. Or if that was impossible.

He wrenched himself into the helicopter, close to Elena's stretcher, refused to leave as they hooked her up to who-knew-what kind of machines. Refused to do more than sit down there an hold her hand as the helicopter flew of to whatever place.

* * *

_Thank you very much for reading again! Next chapter: Reeve, Tseng: They'll feel better as long as someone is punished. _

_It'll be the second last chapter of the story._

_Please review!_


	64. Facing Up

_It's been a while again and I'm sorry; I thought I had the chapter finished last week, but then, Tseng's part drove me nuts and I had to rewrite it._

_Thank you very much for your lovely reviews again!_

_**Kadajclone100, Takeo-kun:** You are perfectly right; the conversation will be rather unpleasant. It might be a good idea to call in Avalanche, but I think Reeve is too self-assured for that (and, honestly, in a building full of security, nobody in his right mind would try to kill Reeve, now, would they?)._

_**Takeo-kun:** You'll find a link to my new story at the end of the chapter._

_**IceQueen69:** Thank you! It's always hard to write romanic interaction between characters without sounding completely silly. Elena will be more or less fine, though._

_**BaneWillRise: **Thank you very much for trying with the address... it always seems to kill the beginning, though. Perhaps it helps leaving spaces? Tifa knows what Reeve is doing, but she's not going to judge him for it, even if she might end up feeling less cordial to him. Elena always wanted to be a Turk, but I think you're right and she's too nice to be a real Before-Meteor-Turk. So, she just ends up reinventing the Turks into a more up-to-date version._

_**SansaStark: **Yes, I'm sorry for being hard on them, but they'll be more or less alright, I promise._

_**LedendKiller22: **Thank you very much! I think it's hard to get Rufus and Tifa to like each other and stay in Canon with all that happened between them, so I'm very glad you're finding it believable._

_**XfashaX: **Thank you very much! I'm glad if it pleases you._

_Please enjoy!_

* * *

Chapter 64: Reeve, Tseng: Facing Up

_14. May, Sunday, Noon_

Reeve looked over Edge. It had rained over night, steadily. It had rained every night for almost four days now, temperatures had sunken and the town had started blooming in the freshest summer green Reeve had seen in years. Below the tops of the newly planted trees, cars and people were hastening. It felt as if a curse had been taken off them under this radiant blues sky.

It felt to him, anyway, as if a curse had been taken off them.

The ice was clickering in his glass, cool and moist against his hand. Even the air from the air conditioner was fresh.

Shin-Ra was gone. Finally. Without ever being able to get up again, its evil prince without a throne, without land and people. Reeve had never believed he would ever witness this day.

_Sulfur_ had finally made its appearance – not as a company of terrorists as he had firmly feared, but of Turks. Turks that should have died by Rufus's scheming five years ago – but had not. Shin-Ra was in ashes and what rose from it was all Reeve had supposed to be long dead. A company focused almost entirely on renewable energies, their development and use, utilising all the discoveries Shin-Ra had suppressed in that field over years. Decades.

Yes. It felt much like a new age now. A better age. The age of democracy, finally. The age in which WRO could bring peace and happiness to the people.

His phone buzzed. He turned away from the window to the table, felt the heat in his back.

"_Sulfur_ here to see you," his secretary announced.

"Show them in," Reeve replied and sat down behind his desk. He was not sure whom he was to expect; Veld himself? Some highly trusted Turk of his? He hoped for Veld. He had always had a high regard for the Turk. Strange. After all they had done, he still thought highly of the Turks and their maxims. They had been forced into horrible things, just like he had been blinded by Shin-Ra.

Just like him, they had seen the light, if belated.

The doors opened. Not too wide, not too little. It did not, as Reeve would have suspected, admitted the deep blue of a Turk's uniform into the room. It did, however, admit the dark black post-Meteor Turk uniform which made him uneasy. He was made even more uneasy by the form that was filling the suit.

Pale, thin, worn, face as motionless and white as china, black ponytail bobbing with every hair in perfection. Stern, self-assured, sharply cut features and coal black eyes. Tseng of the Turks was looking straight at him, the door closing almost noiselessly behind him as he crossed the room, boots resounding heavily on the marble.

"You!"

"Good day, Commissioner," Tseng replied calmly, stopping in front of his table, file under his left arm.

"What are you doing here?!"

"My loyalties are unchanged," the Turk replied which worried Reeve a lot; "They are lying with the Turks."

"Oh," Reeve made, searching the man's face for the meaning of that. There was not a hint of a lie. There was not a hint of anything in that face and it took a moment for the penny to drop. "Oh," Reeve made again. He had always assumed that Tseng was uniquely loyal to Shin-Ra and Rufus. This was – news and he felt almost sorry for Rufus who had not only lost his company but had to realise simultaneously that the man whom he must have trusted most was working for another man. A spy. It explained _Sulfur_'s knowledge and rise quite excellently.

"Well, do have a seat. I'm glad to hear that! Well, to be honest, Tseng, I would have never expected you of all to be a double agent! I mean, to think that you've worked all these years for Veld!"

"A Turk's loyalties are always with the Turks."

Reeve nodded, somewhat puzzled by Tseng's short replies and lack of expression. The Turk had never been cordial, but he had liked Tseng so far and they had so far, too, exchanged no unkind words. He felt somewhat offended by Tseng's cold replies - and by the fact that he had not even guessed that Tseng had been working for Veld all along. Had he indeed? Or had he changed sides when the opportunity had been there? Reeve felt somewhat reminded of how he started in Avalanche as a spy, how he had reported to the Turks and Rufus and had seen, pretty soon, that Avalanche had been right and had joined them. "Well, yes. I … certainly. How's Veld these days?"

Tseng solemnly seated himself and placed a file in front of him on the table. "Veld is well. He sends his regards." He placed his hand on the file. The metal one in its black glove. The other was still holding to one of the file's edges.

"How is Rufus – if you're still on speaking terms with him?"

"Rufus is resting. This is an overview over the topics we would like to discuss starting next month. We would also like to remind you that _Sulfur_ isn't financing WRO as Shin-Ra still did and that electricity is thus not free anymore. As I'm aware it's not much. Furthermore, we've acquired the rest of Shin-Ra's property. That means that there'll be rents due. Of course, we plan to keep the treaties you had with Shin-Ra as far as they concern our property and the building arrangements. We will start cleaning away Midgar in a few weeks, according to your and Rufus's schedule."

Reeve nodded. He had already feared that _Sulfur_ would raise claims – after all the property they had have to buy they certainly needed money. It would hurt little in their finances – well, little compared to the missing addition of Rufus's fortune each month. They would manage. But especially the news about Midgar were delightful. Reeve had feared for the project already. "That's good. – Is _Sulfur_ going to stay with renewable energies?"

Tseng gave a crisp nod. "Of course. The Turks, too, owe the planet and we fully intent to live up to that obligations."

That sounded much like Rufus, however little dramatic Tseng was. Reeve frowned. "Well, I think Shin-Ra has paid back all it owes... after what happened..."

Tseng shook his head. "We let ourselves be used."

Reeve blinked, the comment made him feel strangely uneasy. "True. After all, you _were_ involved in the dropping of the plate... how is Reno?" He just remembered that he had heard something about the Turk being badly injured.

This time, there was an expression on Tseng's face, if only a dark frown. It did make Reeve extremely uneasy, especially when Tseng fixed him with those black eyes - so emotionless that they almost seemed dead if it had not been for a fiery spark beneath. It brought back the pre-Meteor fear of the Turks back to him. The pre-Meteor fear in which you would have known that, if a Turk came to speak with you one on one, you were dead. The thought sent a chill down Reeve's spine, especially in face of those cold eyes. But Tseng would never harm him. They were old colleagues, they got on well and there was no reason on Gaia why Tseng should. Especially because it would do his company no good if he did. No, it was probably just the expression you wore when you had been a spy for years and were suddenly able to show you real face. Reeve was not sure he liked Tseng's real face.

In the same heartbeat, Tseng slipped his right hand from the table. "We haven't found him, yet. The official funeral will be held in two days. You are invited, of course."

Reeve nodded, tried to read something from Tseng's face, felt ashamed about the question he had asked, remembering suddenly that Reno's helicopter had crashed. "I'm sorry."

Tseng did not reply, just pushed the file across the table. That strange expression had smoothed from his face. "We would like to meet with you in a month or in six weeks. As soon as we've started clearing up the rest from Shin-Ra HQ and the streets of Junon from the attack."

"I'd be glad to help."

There was the tiniest twist around Tseng's lips. "I'm not sure the president would appreciate it."

"Oh." Reeve felt – almost offended. He would have liked to send people. After all, they were WRO; they helped everywhere and anyone for nothing. "Shin-Ra wouldn't have refused our help."

Tseng got up. "We aren't Shin-Ra."

"No, of course not," Reeve hurried to say, perturbed by Tseng's facial expression. Or its lack of it. He hesitated a moment. "Are Tifa and the children back in Edge?" Rude had flown away with the children after the fight, telling him that Tifa had asked for them. She had called him almost a week ago, assuring that they were all right and that they were moving back to Edge. He had not heard from them ever since.

Tseng stopped in his movement. "They are in Kalm and as far as I've heard, they are doing well."

Reeve was not sure what to make of that, the pain almost physical when he asked the next question: "So... is she with Rufus, then?"

"I don't know. I haven't talked to her since the attack. But I'm sure she has her mobile with her."

Reeve nodded. He was not going to admit that Tifa had not called him these last few days. He did not even want to think about that Tifa could have decided for Rufus. Cloud had told him that Tifa had decided to fight alongside Shin-Ra and Reeve had not known what to make of it. Cloud had not seemed particularly perturbed by it. Just as if he accepted the world to be that way. Reeve did not even know where Cloud had disappeared to. Maybe north, like he had said. Tseng's cold, however, made him uneasy. Or maybe, what was under-layering the cold. He could not read the Turk and asked himself how Rufus could have stood an emptiness like that at his side. Reeve himself would have felt threatened. Back when he had still sometimes worked with Tseng, Tseng had never made that impression before. But he had never been alone with him in one room, either.

"Well, thank you for coming. Please give Veld my regards."

Tseng gave a crisp nod. "Of course." He gave something like an indicated bow and motioned to turn. Reeve replied with a crisp nod, not turning before he heard Tseng turn. There was not even a sound when the Turk moved across the room and when he was in far enough a distance, Reeve turned to the window, wondering. Maybe, if Cloud had disappeared, he had gone to Tifa again? He had sounded much like the two of them had come to some kind of agreement. Reeve did not want to believe that Tifa might have, even after all that had passed, chosen Rufus. He did not even want to think about what that would do to the children.

He would have to ask Veld for another man to work with. Tseng's china face, his lack of expression and then that fiery fire behind is cold dead eyes scared him. He did not want to feel like someone had come to murder him every time he was in negotiations with _Sulfur_. Come to think of it, he had not even heard the door closing behind Tseng and the back of his neck was still prickling. He would definitely have to talk to Veld.

He gave a sigh, looking at his precious town. The parliament that was almost finished now. The announcements of the parties that were hanging like colourful dots at the hoardings. Edge was blooming and Gaia's future would be glorious. He was proud. He was truly proud of what WRO had accomplished.

\\

The blade was warm against Tseng's arm as he quickened his steps towards the helicopter, knowing perfectly well that he was most of all running away from himself. He had asked Rufus to be the one negotiating with Reeve. Rufus had refused at first, knowing perfectly what he had wanted to go for. Yet, he had heard him out. And then, he had called Veld and told him that Tseng would ensure good cooperation with WRO.

Which of course had been a lie and Tseng still felt the inconsolable rage roaring in his ears with which he had argued back to Rufus. With which he had insisted on going.

With which he had come today to murder Reeve, fully aware of what such a deed would mean. _Sulfur_ sending anyone to kill Reeve was as good as a declaration of war on WRO. It would ruin whatever aims _Sulfur_ had in the short term. It would, most likely, ruin _Sulfur_'s reputation. Rufus had said it might even throw Gaia into a civil war. Tseng doubted all that. WRO had Reeve as its one leader. Reeve had not, in time, thought about who could replace him if something happened to him. WRO would fall apart with inner struggle over the power as soon as the collective aim of democracy had have been achieved. A parliament would be elected in spring, the members of parliament would vote for a memorial day for Reeve, founder of the republic. He, Tseng, would maybe be wanted as Reeve's assassin. But Rufus would protect him to the last of his power.

Rufus had put flicked his mobile shut and said that he should go by all means; people always felt better as long as someone was punished. And Tseng had seen the hate in his friend's smirk and the furious pain burning in his friend's eyes.

It was never good to act upon anger, never good to act upon fury and certainly no good to act upon pain.

But Reeve had _promised_ to protect Shin-Ra's building if something happened. Tseng had negotiated that himself. If Reeve had not had promised that, they would have not taken everyone to the raid of the terrorist's head quarter. There would have been people to protect their employees. Reeve had _known_, too, about the attack and had not informed them. Had refused them their chance to scout better. To be prepared.

A single order from Reeve and his soldiers would have stayed at Shin-Ra's gates. They would have been able to stop the terrorists. Tseng had never much cared about civilians, yet, he could not but think about the bodies he had passed inside the building. The screams as some of _their_ employees had been burned to death while they were running for their lives. All it would have needed would have been Reeve to stay true to his word and back them up with all his soldiers in Junon. He had had enough men. But he had withdrawn them all. Elena would not have been forced to come to their help if Reeve had not withdrawn his soldiers. They would have been able to take the helicopter from the president's helicopter deck. Elena would not have been shot. _He_ would not have been forced to shoot Rufus just to save his life.

The trust in Rufus's eyes as he had just given a nod of permission still haunted him. That he had missed upon something crucial like this. What his bullet had done to Rufus's body. Elena who would never take a single step again. He hated Reeve for refusing to give them his promised backup. For turning Elena into a cripple. For making him shoot Rufus.

If he had known that Reeve's people would not protect them, he would have put Reno in charge of the defence. And Reno would not be dead.

He had never in his life asked a single thing from Rufus, but this time, he had almost begged him for revenge.

Tseng pushed the doors to the helicopter deck open, thankful to Rufus for giving him the chance to kill Reeve. He had known that he was blinded by inconsolable pain when he had asked, had expected a blunt refuse from Rufus, had expected in his furious pain that Rufus would even now be putting Shin-Ra (now _Sulfur_) before everything else.

Rufus had not. But it had been that agreement that had put him under more pressure than a refuse could have possibly done. Pressure to act reasonable. But how was one to act reasonable when Elena would never walk again? When one had been followed by screams of people burning to death? When one had been forced to shoot at one's best friend and damage his shoulder beyond repair? How could he even act reasonably after he had seen the Turks the terrorists had murdered? When they had almost destroyed Rufus, too? When Reno was dead?

A puddle from the night's rain was still standing on the helicopter deck. The air was clear, the sky fresh and bright with only a cirrostratus spanning over the deep blue. The sun was warming him through his jacket, the air fresh in his lungs, the knife sticking uncomfortably against his skin. Edge stretched as far as he could see, the grey concrete of the platform breaking away without banister to a deep drop at all three sides of the deck. Looming in his back, Tseng felt the glass windows glittering and rising up to Reeve's cold office in the sky.

The anger was cold in the back of his neck, an icy grip around his stomach. Mocking him for what he had come for. The weather was ever so warm and beautiful.

Tseng did not walk hastily over to the helicopter. He nodded to the WRO man with the heavy headset and the signals for the helicopters. The water of the puddle splashed away under his boots, the reflection breaking. He saluted the Turks at the helicopter and propelled himself into the hatch, taking up his own headset. The heavy hatch vibrated under his hands as he slammed it close and the air inside the helicopter became stale almost simultaneously. The unfamiliar strain was hurting in his new prosthesis. The vibration of the accelerating rotors roared through his bones as he sat down on one of the benches.

Noises became almost deafening before the helicopter hoisted itself with a jolt into the sky, accelerated, nose down, away from the glittering building, higher soon than Reeve's office. Tseng breathed out slowly and took the blade from his sleeve, disgusted suddenly, with the idea of what weakness it symbolised. He put it back into its scabbard and into a plastic bag which he stored inside his jacket, sitting down quietly.

_People are ignorant. They'll feel better as long as someone is punished._

Reeve had not even remembered that Reno was dead. Inside Tseng, even the thought of it tore a deep and bloody hole. He had been unable to believe his ears and eyes when Reeve had said that, could not bring himself to admit that they would be going to Reno's funeral in just two days. Could not believe that the white casket would be empty. That Reno would not nudge Rude and snigger when he and Elena passed. That Reno would not slump over any couch anymore.

Rude had not said a single word, had just gone completely mute.

Tseng could not believe that they would all meet again on the graveyard. That the side of Rufus's face was maybe still bandaged, his jacket only as much over the shoulder as the metal installations would allow. He could not believe that someone would be pushing Elena's wheelchair over the graveyard. Elena who would never take a single step again.

And Reeve had to even _remembered_ about Reno.

But Tseng was not `people'. And as much as he felt disgusted with himself, faint with the sudden lack of fury, the emptiness that Reeve's ignorance had washed into his brain, he could not have been more thankful that Rufus had heard him out and still sent him.

Because there was no way anyone could have reasoned him into not murdering Reeve. He would have still wanted to if Rufus had asked him to stay. He would have still wanted to if Veld had told him that revenge would only lead to more suffering. He would have still wanted to if his ancestors had suddenly spoken to him and told him that he would betray his own honour and believes if he murdered Reeve.

But nothing had been more convincing than looking into Reeve's eyes when he had asked after Reno and seeing just `someone'. Because `someone' had just to be responsible. And Reeve had been just too convenient to be that someone.

The pain inside him was still there, like an ice cold leaden ball in his stomach, like acid in his throat, like bitter furies in his head, but the wrath was gone.

\\

Tseng did not even know if Elena would want to talk to him anymore. After the attack, the doctors had left her in an artificial coma to stabilise her and he had spent hour after hour sitting at her bedside, mind foggy with the medication they had given him against the pain when they had attached the new arm. He had stopped the medication two days ago. He had wanted to feel the pain. He had not been to see Elena for two days, too, ever since they had woken her. It had been him who had suggested that Elena could do it alone. That she did not need anyone else to lead this mission. That it would be a piece of cake. He had dissuaded her from taking Rude with her. He had persuaded her to come with the Turks, to lead the party to the mouth of the pipe.

He had thought nothing would happen to her. He had thought he would not even need this backup plan, that this was just plan D, never to be used. And even if it would come down to that plan, he had thought that they would just wait for them, secure the getaway and be gone before anyone was any wiser. It had never occurred to him that Isolde Fontainebleau's acquaintances might have known about the renovation, not to mention be able to find out about the escape route, too. That Isolde's value did not lie in finding a way into the building (they had had enough moles who had willingly opened the doors once Reeve's people had been gone), but in getting access to the documents which gave hints to the secret passage.

He could not understand how Rufus could have been able to forgive him so easily. It had been so stupid. If he and Elena had figured there was an escape route, it should have dawned to him that others might, too.

In his arrogance, he had risk and almost lost both Elena's and Rufus's lives. Again.

He could not imagine Elena would ever forgive him to have been turned into a cripple.

He drew a deep breath before his metal hand closed around the handle to Elena's room. The flowers in his right hand felt feeble.

He had flung the knife out of the helicopter somewhere over the ocean, disgusted with it, ashamed by the inconsolable rage that had brought him to carry it. He asked himself why he had not thrown himself right after the knife. Honour would have demanded that after such a failure. But death was the easy way out and Elena should at last be given the opportunity to blame him.

The door swung open to Elena's room, soft sunlight falling in through the half opened curtains, Surna's mountains rising behind them.

Elena was sitting in her bed, she was reading. When he entered, she turned her head. He had rarely been so afraid as when her eyes had risen to him. The stalk of the flowers cut into his fingers as he clung to them with all his might. He feared the disgust, the accuse, the bitter anger more than any enemy.

Elena smiled.

First, just a little bit, then, her eyes widened and then, joy split her entire face. "Tseng!" She almost shouted his name and Tseng could not understand the relief in it. "You came!"

He entered the room, uncertain, his heart beating in his throat. He loved her. He loved her so very much. Above everything in this world. He would kill anyone who ever harmed her.

"Hello, Elena," he said, uncertain, "I've got some flowers for you?"

Suddenly, Elena was crying, hand clinging to his jacket and crying. "I thought you wouldn't come anymore! I'm so glad you came! I thought - I thought you wouldn't come anymore!"

"Why - why wouldn't I come anymore, Elena?" He felt his own voice catching in his throat, frightened, relieved with the arms that were clinging to him, overwhelmed by the pain inside. "How could I refuse to come?!"

"Be-because I failed you so much! Tseng, I'm so sorry we weren't in time! I'm so sorry you lost your arm _again_! I'm so sorry we did not make it! I'm so sorry you had to hurt Shachou! Tseng, really, I'm so sorry!"

"Elena!" He held her so close as he had never held anyone before. Held close the most precious human in his life. "I - I - you did nothing wrong! - I thought - I couldn't protect you! I failed to protect you all! I should have protected you! It wasn't your fault, it's - I should have protected you! - I couldn't protect Reno, none of you!" The pain inside was overwhelming, screamed likes furies inside him as if they wanted to tear him apart, felt himself sobbing with the unequalled grief. Elena was crying against him, clinging so hard that it hurt, could not hurt as much as the loss inside.

He did not know how long they held each other even after the tears had stopped. How long it took, until Elena breathed into his shoulder: "I thought you didn't want to see me again, Tseng!"

"Why would I not want to see you again, Elena?!"

"What would you want with a legless woman?"

"You still have both your legs," he pointed out which he knew was besides the point. "There is nothing on this planet that could ever stop me from loving you, Elena! - If you can forgive me that I couldn't protect you, I'll follow you anywhere."

Elena giggled. She giggled into his shoulder. "Tseng... You can't protect us all! How could I be angry with you? I went by my own choice! - I - I'm just so glad you made it! I'm so glad you've come back! I... I ... I love you so much! - Uh, and you're sitting on the flowers."

* * *

_Thank you very much for reading again. The next chapter: _Rufus: A Good Deal More_ will be the last chapter in this story. I am not planning to continue _Out of the Blue _at this point, but in case you are interested, my next project will be an original fiction:_

**Placebo**.

_The story also be written from the point of view of at least four different characters. It'll be some kind of fantasy-style and there'll be magic in the world. However, my main characters will mostly face the problem that they _cannot _do magic. In addition to that, their world is at the edge of civil war (they don't know, yet) and they'll get drawn into a conspiracy that, if it succeeds, will bring civil war upon them. If not, it'll kill at least one of the main characters._

_If you're interested:_

_**www._fictionpress_com/_s/_3060120/_1/**_

_You'll have to remove the _ in the address to get it to work. And put a dot before the com.  
_

_Otherwise: Please review._


	65. As Long As It Lasts

_Since **many of you** asked: _

_1) **sequel**: At the moment, I'm not planning a sequel; one should stop things when they are still good. Besides (and most of all), I'll have make some new life experiences to have enough data for the sequel. So, at best, there'll be a sequel in two or three years. I wouldn't count on it, though._

_2) **Reno**: He's dead._

_**Kadajclone100:** Oh, I'm so glad you're saying it's hard to take sides! And thank you for the 'kudos'. I'm trying to do my best ;-) and I'm happy that it worked out._

_**BaneWillRise:** I'm sorry to disagree with you about Reeve, but if I remember correctly, Reeve was very high ranked in Shin-Ra... I don't think one rises that high in rank in any totalitarian regime unless one approves of it. But I think that thanks to Avalanche, Reeve saw that Shin-Ra's ways are not only doubtful but bad. And I perfectly agree with you; his approach on Rufus and Shin-Ra make much sense. _

_Thanks for looking into my other story!_

_**LegendKiller22: **__Eventually, he will discover about _Sulfur_ and that Tifa knew. But I think he'll already feel much betrayed when he finds out about the end of this chapter. And I'm sorry we can't be best friends just yet ;-)_

_**Takeo-kun: **thanks a billion!_

_**SansaStark:**__ Elena will certainly make an excellent member or _Sulfur _even if wheelchair bound. But I think Rufus and Tseng would probably never speak another word in their lives with Reno of he just turns up on his own funeral, all smirks and smiles... at least, I don't think they'd ever forgive Reno if he did that, but see above._

_**XfashaX**: Thank you very much! Glad to have managed that!_

_**Thank you everyone** for all your lovely reviews. You really managed to make my days man a time. Special thanks, most of all, to **Licoriceallsorts**. She's been constantly reviewing my chapters and helped me a lot with her ideas and detailed discussions!_

_So, this is it, then. The last chapter. I miss the characters already. Well, please enjoy, anyway._

* * *

Chapter 65: Rufus: As Long As It Lasts

_14. May, Sunday, Afternoon_

The wind was driving heavy clouds over sky when Rufus pushed the lever to open and leaned against the door. He tried not to think of the charred up patch of land where they had not even found Reno's body. When he slid the door to the terrace open, a painful stab drove through his left shoulder. Strange that the death of a fellow human could hurt so much that the physical pain of a shattered shoulder seemed almost little. The terracotta was still comfortably warm from the sun, only slightly rough under the bare sole of his feet as he stepped outside into the brooding afternoon. The garden lay there in its calming green, freshly grown on Midgar's debris. An artificial creek rushed between the old rubble as if Midgar had never been. Soon, Rufus supposed, it would almost be as if Midgar had never been. When they and WRO had cleared away all of Midgar's rubble.

Not a trace from the plate Reno dropped. Not a trace of that Turk anywhere but in their heads. Nothing but a dark cramp inside the stomach, a numbing pain in the throat and a scurrying shadow in the edge of the eye.

Rufus drew in a deep breath and quickly looked away. The air sizzled with ozone, was standing languidly between the trees, insects chirring in the grass. It was hot, the smells almost intense, tainted by the smog from the town.

The dark clouds had to have passed Reeve's office before they had almost casually covered up the blue here and Rufus was worried. Up there in his office, Reeve was either dead or alive by now. And Rufus was worried about Tseng. Once awoken from his raging grief, Tseng would never forgive himself if he had murdered Reeve just like a surplus cat in a box. Rufus did not even know if he had done the right thing when he had allowed Tseng to go. Or if he should have protected him and refused to let him go. But Tseng had almost begged and Tseng had never before asked him for anything. Not that desperately. Not in so much fury and pain. He had thought that Tseng _needed_ to go. That Tseng _knew_ deep down inside him that he was making Reeve his scapegoat. That Tseng _needed_ to face Reeve and realise that he could not murder him because otherwise, he would always reproach himself for letting his fury getting control over his mind.

Rufus leaned against the balustrade, the right arm coming easily, supporting his weight. The left hand followed painfully. The wood under was rugged and warm under his thumb, rough as he stroke over it. A huff of warm desert wind bent the freshly planted trees and pulled at his hair. Stroke over his skin like a caress. The crickets were silencing, the sky above almost black, the air stale, foreboding waiting. It was so warm on his skin, the rough tiling warming his feet from below. All the plants were standing in attention, only the water was still rushing ignorantly away over the stones and in the distance, he could hear Edge's undying traffic.

He had been sure that Tseng would not murder Reeve. Because although Reeve had broken a promise - what on Gaia was a broken promise?! - he had not been able to foresee what would happen to them. It made no sense to murder him. Because revenge never made sense.

Now, Rufus was not sure if he had not sent Tseng because, frankly, he had not give a bloody damn about whether or not Reeve lived or died.

Reeve had pulled his soldiers off when they had needed them most. He was not reliable and Rufus had little use for people who were no use to him when he needed them. Also, if Reeve was dead, WRO would break apart as soon as elections had been held and that would leave them back as one of the major players in the field. Reeve's death would probably not even damage _Sulfur_'s reputation very much; few knew that he himself was behind _Sulfur_ and Reeve's death would look like an act of vengeance from a lone Turk. Well, maybe not in this new world.

Rufus's hands tightened around the square-cut banister. A breeze was stealing itself through the sizzling air, was ever so warm slight, ever so warm, he felt it moving the hair on his arms.

That were the reasons he pictured himself with, but it were the wrong reasons, were they not? By now, he would not have risked _Sulfur_'s reputation for something as fleeting as another man's revenge. Not that his fragile façade would collapse because of something like that. It may have not been Reeve's intention or even fault, but Reno was dead and Elena could not walk anymore and Tseng had been so despaired that he was begging him to let him have this revenge. It had made him so furious - had _hurt_ so much to see that bottomless pain and the fury in Tseng's eyes and hear it in his voice when he had asked to be sent.

And Rude seemed dead inside. That made things personal.

Rufus loosened his hands from the balustrade. Wind was pulling at his hair now, harsh, the sky dark black.

Was this maybe the pain people felt when they thought of Shin-Ra?

He had always been able to _understand_ why people would have want them killed, but he had never been able to refeel it.

If it had not hurt so much to even think of Reno, it would have been almost interesting.

Rufus was thankful for the pain, thankful for the nights in which only the pain killers had let him sleep, thankful even for the ordeal of the operations. Thankful, almost, that the doctors said it was quite possible that he would not ever be able to use his arm fully again. If he had walked away unscratched, if he had walked away with not even a mark, he would not have known how to face the others anymore. Tseng, whose arm he had taken. Tifa whose eye had been damaged. Elena whose spine had been shattered. And most of all Reno, although he would never face Reno again.

Rufus had never thought he would live to see that day when Tseng failled to hit an aim from less than seven meters. But they had been dazzled by the lack of air, shaky on their legs. Tseng had had to react within a was probably enough metal in his shoulder now to sink him like a stone if he ever tried swimming again.

He would not have been able to face himself in the mirror anymore if he had not had a scratch.

Tseng would not murder Reeve, he was sure of it. Even if it might have been a mistake to sent him.

The green in the park was straightening up in the pausing wind. He had never thought that he would see plants growing in Midgar again. But the artificial creek with water from the mountains had brought life back into town. _His_ water had brought it back. _Sulfuric_ water. Thanks to the lack of rain in the last few weeks, Reeve had agreed to _Sulfur_'s water deliveries. With that water at least little money was trickling back onto the company's account. Not Shin-Ra. _Sulfur._ _His_ company.

His own company at last.

Rufus did not even know why he had never seen it before. Why he had lost so much money over it, why he had let Shin-Ra go to waste and himself - them all - through that stupid ordeal.

Why Reno had had to die.

No one knew, yet, that the company belonged to him and it was a bliss. They were not looking twice, thinking hard, sighing before they signed any contract. People were starting to seem them as an alternative to WRO. And WRO seemed willing to cooperate. Well, that depended on what Tseng did up there, anyway. He intended to play the role of the broken heir for as long as he could. As longer it took until the people realised that he was behind _Sulfur_, the more they would trust them. The more WRO would be willing to cooperate. The less people would try to blow them up. Veld and afterwards maybe Elena would make good fronts. Maybe, they would come out after the elections. Maybe, they would be found out some day. He could well live with never being known as _Sulfur_'s president at all.

_Sulfur_ was all he had ever wanted. His Turks, his likes. His schemes and his idea. _His_ company. A company formed all by himself, not that legacy of his father. Few obligations from the past. Not the feeling that he had only _inherited_ from that _father_ of his. _Sulfur_ was his own creation, his own blood. His own work.

_Sulfur_ could set him free at last and free from that dark past. At the cost of Elena's legs. At the cost of Tseng's arm. Most of all, at the cost of Reno's life.

Asked not long before, he would have said he would gladly pay that price.

Now, he would have given almost everything not to have paid this price. It had bought him everything he had ever wanted, ever desired, ever wished for. Everything.

And he would have rather not had it for that price.

Everything, perhaps, apart from Tifa.

She could be here any moment now and he did not even want to know what price he would have to pay for her.

If it cost as much as _Sulfur_, he would certainly not pay it.

Yet, he still felt her lips moving against his thumb, how cold her hand had felt against his skin. Her embrace.

The pounding of his own heart.

He drew in a breath of that warm, stale air, smog so heavy in his lungs. There was a dark rumble somewhere in the distance above the constant buzz of the traffic. A raindrop, huge and wet, splashed onto the tiling next to him.

He would ask her. Tseng had told him that she had been there and sat with him after the operations. He did not remember much through the clouds of anaesthetic and pain. But it sounded like a good sign.

Another rumble in the distance, more pronounced this time. More heavy drops. The intense and sharp smell of wet stone rose into his nose. A warm drop hit the back of his hand, rolled down over his wrist.

He would definitely ask her today. Today, he would ask Tifa. He was sick of prancing around the topic, of all the uncertainty. Even if he imaged all the `good signs'. He would lose his face, he feared, but that could not be helped.

It was almost raining now.

Rufus drew another deep breath, the smell of wet earth and stone stinging, turned. The tiling was still warm, slightly wet from the drops now. He closed the door to the terrace behind him, mats in his own room colder than the tiling outside. The wind came back in a furious gush, hammering down every plant in the park. The roar of thunder was anything but distant now.

He stared at the heaving green. He had no idea what to say to Tifa.

Somewhere beyond that park, she had reopened her bar. Somewhere beyond that park, the children were going to their old school. They had settled into their old lives again. He would soon settled back into his, now that the operations were over, now that _Sulfur_ was gathering up speed. If Tifa refused him, he would go back to Junon as planned. If she did not - highly unlikely, that - concessions had to be make. Tifa had made it abundantly clear that she _would_ keep her bar and not work for any company. But it did not matter much whether he worked in Junon or in Surna or in Kalm or in Edge. He would go anywhere for her. If only she said `yes', he would not be so stupid as to argue on that point. It would inconvenience him for sure to come to her bar often, it would inconvenience him greatly to be seen. He would _hate_ it. Yet, if she was willing to accept him, he would not mind (too much).

He would do anything.

But he would not lose another of his friends.

He hoped Tifa had not been caught in that thunderstorm. The white light of a lightning flashed through the rattled garden. It was almost as dark as night and the wind was hammering the drops against the windows.

The knock on the door almost drowned in a thunder.

Rufus did not know how to react, clung faster to the window's lever. He knew from the knock that it was Tifa, as certain as he if he could look through the door. Nervousness rose from his stomach, his heart bounding and he felt like an idiot, soon to embarrass himself. What was he thinking? He did not have the time! He would be bound in Junon, cleaning up, in Kalm, organising, in Surna, rebuilding, he would barely be in Edge, he would not have time to see her! She would never think differently of him than as a friend! He was way too cold for her, disfigured with that powder burn below his chin and all the metal in his shoulder. Not good enough, Gaia! If it had not been for Tseng, he would have honestly been hoping her friend had been murdered! All the words he had prepared in his head, everything sounded so stupid just now, it would sound even more stupid as soon as voiced. He felt just incredibly silly. He could not do it. Impossible!

He was not even dressed close to appropriately.

The skin on his shoulder, especially around the metal, was still so tender that it was impossible to wear anything but that silly waistcoat without being in constant pain and it embarrassed him terribly to be facing anyone and Tifa most of all that inadequately dressed. It made him feel defenceless and it made him feel plebejan, insecure and - he had lost so much weight, he was skinny now and he hated to look like that - all pointy bones. The jacket at least covered that up.

To be truthful, he was bloody frightened, did not even turn upon the knock at the door, but clung to the view outside. Whatever he interpreted into Tifa's actions was nonsense. All her actions made it obvious that she did have regard for him, but only on a friendly level. And who was he, anyway, to hope for more? His family was responsible for every loss she had ever suffered.

There was another knock and it was definitely too impolite to keep Tifa waiting there.

So, he turned and headed over to the door, realising with dismay that he had failed to put on socks. He opened the door, his heart ponding in his throat.

The thunderstorm had almost taken all the light out of the hospital's corridor and left nothing but long shadows in between the flashes from the lightnings. Tifa's face was almost in darkness. She was looking straight at him, hair falling onto her shoulders. There were a few drops of rain on her clothes, a single drop threatening its way down her cheek. She had her arms crossed in front of her chest and her clothes were almost respectable today. And, most of all, her frown changed into a smile when he opened the door. His heart was hammering like made, his brain seemed almost empty. She took his breath away.

"Good afternoon, Tifa. Come on in," he said, his tongue almost too heavy to speak. How could anyone be attractive with so many flaws on her?

"Hello, Rufus." With that, Tifa moved passed him, gave him a once over while he closed the door. A thunder rolled outside. It was almost pitch black, the rain noisy against the windows. Her look embarrassed him, especially that smile that looked like a smirk on her face.

"How are you? Can I get you something to drink?"

Tifa shook her head, then, putting her shoes neatly against the wall, she seemed to think differently. Outside, the rain was roaring. A lightning froze the smile on her face. "Some of that tea?" She nodded at the table at the teapot on its warmer. Maybe, it had been no good idea to prepare the tea in advance. But he had not known what else to do.

He nodded, felt embarrassed, his heart thundering, knew he should ask and pointed at the couch instead. "Please, have a seat. - How is your eye?"

Tifa slipped onto the black leather and shrugged. Her left eye had taken a hit during the fight and Tseng had reported that she had not been happy with the materia's healing results. Rufus switched on a standard lamp in the corner and sat down on the low armchair next to her, started filling the mugs. The light of the lamp almost negated the warm circle the candle had drawn around the teapot.

"I might have to wear glasses," she stated and took one of the mugs, wrapping both hands around it, although it was not cold in the room.

Rufus studied her. Another lightning flashed outside, painting her face in sharp contrasts for a heartbeat. "I'm sorry to hear that. - I mean, that your eye is that damaged."

She smiled and that smile roared in his head. "I don't mind glasses. I mean, I can wear contacts if I have to."

He turned the mug in his hand. "Glasses would look good on you, too." They would indeed.

She seemed surprised by that comment. He hoped that she was not aware of what he thought of her wardrobe in general. Most likely she was, though. "Hn. Well. I'll see. - Maybe, I won't need them at all. - How's your arm?"

"It's not come off, yet. So, I think it's fine." That, at least, was the best compliment he could pay his shoulder. Certainly not at awkward as the one he had just tried to pay Tifa.

She was smiling in reply, the light from the lamp warm on her face. "It doesn't look fine from here. Not with all that metal. - May I?"

"What?" Her sympathy made him feel awkward. He still had no idea how to ask her whether... well, if she liked him at least a little bit.

Almost simultaneously, her fingers made contact with his upper arm, warm, brushing the cloth away and he did not know how to react, just swallowed hard. The touch was so gentle, so warm and kind. His heart was thundering.

She nodded. "Well, it looked at lot worse before."

He had to force himself not to show any disappointed on his face at her comment. Not because she was saying anything but because - what had he hoped for?! "Tifa..." He put his mug onto the table, felt awfully shaky inside, mouth dry. "If you just want to see about my wounds, please don't touch." He felt silly for not wearing anything else over the waistcoat, despite the fact that it would have hurt. Well, less than this, anyway.

The touch broke and Tifa frowned, pulling back her arm and sitting up straight. "Do you think that I just go around touching anyone?!"

She had almost snapped at him and it hurt, making him feel ever so defensive. "Look, I don't know what normal people do!"

She stared at him, drew a deep breath and put her mug onto the table. "So you're still in love me, then?"

Another thunder crashed outside and the day had darkened as if the end of the world had come - again. The question hurt and for moments, he felt tempted to deny, not to admit _that_ weakness. Instead he felt himself half nodding half shrugging in agreement, the motion hurting in his left shoulder. He did not dare to look at her, everything cold inside. This, he thought, would certainly be the last time he would be dumb enough to play _that_ game.

"Okay," she said. "Well, I'm not going around touching people, Rufus, not even friends if I know they were in love with me before. It'd be unfair." She looked at him, added: "That means I think I love you, too."

His head went empty, blazing with fire as he stared at her when realisation struck him and it felt like the ground gave in below him. He could not even swallow when he looked at her, that warm expression on her face. "So... would you consider a relationship with me?" His stomach turned and he felt himself shaking, did not hear a single noise from the thunderstorm outside, saw nothing - felt nothing - but her face. "I mean, despite the fact of who I am, what has happened, what I am going to do, de- despite the fact that someone might come to kill us again and that that could hurt you or the children?"

"Will you not demand me to give up my bar?"

"Why on Gaia would I do that?" He was bloody frightened, his heart beating marathon. Bloody frightened to hear a `no' and even more frightened to hear a `yes'. For who knew where _that_ would take him? How long they would last, how he would even fit her in, what the others would say. Everything.

He felt her leaning forward, her breath on his lips, the slight touch when she murmured against his: "Well, then I guess that's a `yes'."

* * *

_I thank you all most cordially for reading and those of you who review even more for taking the trouble and the time to review._

_I hope you enjoyed the story._

_If you are interested in reading more from me, I'm just getting started on a fantasy novel:_

_**www._fictionpress_com/_s/_3060120/_1/**_

_You'll have to remove the _ in the address to get it to work. And put a dot before the com._

_So, thanks again a billion!_

_And please do review! I'd still like to hear your opinion about it, even though the story is finished._


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